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A TV presenter has felt compelled to backtrack after suggesting on live TV that Mikel Arteta's presence on the touchline may have led members of Atletico Madrid's coaching staff to want to 'punch [him] in the face'.
Tempers were high during Arsenal's 1-0 victory at home to Atletico on Tuesday night, which booked the Gunners' passage to the Champions League final following a 1-1 draw in Madrid in the first leg.
"At what stage, as the opposition coach, do you want to punch Arteta in the face? How much does that annoy you?"
Arteta's animated demeanour - and a touch of minor gamesmanship as he stood in the way of an Atletico throw-in at one point - caught the attention of ESPN presenter Dan Thomas.
Speaking on the American broadcast ESPN FC, Thomas asked Craig Burley and Stewart Robson: "At what stage, as the opposition coach, do you want to punch Arteta in the face? How much does that annoy you?"
As relayed by the Mirror, Craig Burley quite reasonably responded by pointing to Diego Simeone being no stranger to similar antics, saying: "Hold on, the two of them are as bad as each other.
"I thought, today, Arteta out-Simeone'd Simeone. The way he was running around at the end. It’s got to be frustrating, hasn’t it, as an opposition coach?"
Robson was much less generous, saying: "All Arteta does, I think he’s doing it for himself: 'Look at me, I’m great, I run this club, I do this, I do that'… It’s just absolutely pathetic.
"If I was running down the side, I’d make sure I actually topped him. I’d tackle the ball and tackle him at the same time."
Thomas followed up his provocative question the next day, saying: "I just want to make reference to something I said yesterday, an off-hand comment that landed literally.
"Obviously, it was not intended to land that way. I’ve thought about it today and I could have phrased it in such a better way. So, going forward I will definitely try not to say anything silly."
Arsenal will now go on to face defending champions PSG in the final in Budapest.
