Alexandre Lacazette sparked a training ground bust-up at Arsenal which led to him grabbing teammate Cedric Soares by the face.
Amazon 's fly-on-the-wall documentary series, All or Nothing, has been giving fans a unique look behind the scenes at their London Colney training complex and inside the Gunners' dressing room across eight episodes. And the finale shed light on a fiery exchange between Lacazette and Cedric, who had to be separated by manager Mikel Arteta and a crowd of players after an explosive row.
The pair came to blows during a pressure period at the Emirates, as Arsenal's stars were bidding to bring Champions League football back to north London in the final weeks of the season. It all kicked off midway through an intense training session, as Lacazette - who spent the second half of last term as the Arteta's captain - made a strong challenge on youth team star Jack Henry-Francis.
The 18-year-old managed to get his shot away but fell after Lacazette's tackle. Goalkeeper Bernd Leno then rolled the ball back out to the Frenchman to start an attack, only to have Henry-Francis regain possession in a forceful but fair manner. Arteta responded to the challenge by saying: "Good, Jack!"
Lacazette wasn't happy, though, and although Arteta pleaded "careful, Laca, careful," the striker took a swipe at the Republic of Ireland under-19 international's legs, bringing him down in a heap.
Their teammates reacted with cries of "oh!" and the Gunners boss quickly blew his whistle for a foul. That's where Cedric came in, saying something inaudible to Lacazette about his aggressive tackle. The seasoned goalscorer replied by asking Cedric to "speak normally, speak normally," as tensions rose.
Get involved! Where will Arsenal finish this season? Join the debate in the comments section.
Lacazette proceeded to grab the Portuguese's shirt with his right hand, spinning him round to face him. The 31-year-old then got hold of Cedric's face and jaw with his left hand, repeating: "Speak normally." Lacazette wasn't for letting go and the defender pushes back at him, just as Leno arrived to push them apart as Arteta exclaimed: "Hey, hey, hey."
10-15 players and staff got involved in the melee, such as young star Gabriel Martinelli and academy product Emile Smith Rowe. Granit Xhaka, one of the more experienced players in the squad, spoke to Lacazette, who insisted: "It's fine."
Lacazette went on to explain to the Amazon cameras: "This is normal in football. If you have players who want to win, it's normal. If you have players who don't care, it would never happen. When we came back in the dressing room, I came back to say sorry because sometimes you just become crazy. It's just passion to win."
Thankfully for Arsenal, the bust-up was quickly forgotten about as they beat West Ham 2-1 in their next game, thanks to goals defensive duo Rob Holding and Gabriel Magalhaes. The Gunners weren't able to secure a place in the top four, however, as defeats to bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle in their final three games of the season condemned them to a fifth-place finish.
