Kai Havertz escapes red card after incident FOUR seconds into Man City vs Arsenal

Manchester City's Premier League clash with Arsenal was halted after just a matter of seconds as Gunners forward Kai Havertz collided with Rodri just after kick-off at the Etihad

Manchester City's showdown with Arsenal was halted after just FOUR seconds after bizarre incident involving Kai Havertz.

Just mere moments after Michael Oliver got the game underway, the German collided with Rodri. The Manchester City midfielder fell to the floor clutching his face and required treatment.

He was fine to continue after a near-two minute stoppage and the game got back underway - with Havertz also escaping punishment.

Former Everton midfielder Leon Osman gave his view on the bizarre clash. Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, "Rodri tried to step across Havertz and Havertz runs through him. Havertz saw it coming and barged him in the chest. Havertz, said: 'if your going to do that, I'm going to leave a bit on you'."

There was also another incident just moments later as City striker Erling Haaland produced a crunching tackle on Arsenal's Gabriel Magalhaes. Referee Oliver intervened and awarded the Gunners a free kick but refused to hand out any mre punishment to the Norwegian forward.

Arsenal might have been hoping that he had after he gave Pep Guardiola's side. He was released behind the Gunners defence and score with a clinical, low finish.

It marked his 100th goal for the club since arriving from German side Borussia Dortmund, in what was only his 105th appearance. His form has been absolutely brilliant this season having already scored ten goals in the Premier League.

The game continued to be incident-hit with only 15 minutes on the clock. As City attempted to add to their lead, Spanish midfielder Rodri went down clutching his knee and was forced to receive lengthy medical treatment.

Guardiola was also forced into action as the Euro 2024 was replaced by midfield colleague Mateo Kovacic.

There will be more to follow on this breaking news story and Mirror Sport will bring you the very latest updates, pictures and video as soon as possible.

Please check back regularly for updates on this developing story.

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