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The Arsenal boss blew his top after his side’s 3-1 defeat at the Etihad and accused the England winger of diving to win a second half penalty.

The fuming Frenchman said Sterling ‘dives very well’ after he went down under a challenge from Nacho Monreal.

Pundits insisted referee Michael Oliver made the right decision and former England striker Alan Shearer called on Wenger to apologise to Guardiola for his comments.

Starsport understands Guardiola was stunned by Wenger’s attack on his players.

City officials were left scratching their heads at Wenger’s comments - given that he tried so hard to sign the 22-year-old in the August transfer window.

The Gunners wanted a part exchange deal which would have seen Alexis Sanchez move in the opposite direction.

But the deal collapsed when the Gunners couldn’t persuade Thomas Lemar to join them as Sanchez’s replacement.

Guardiola and his bosses felt Sterling had been too honest when he could have had a penalty in the first half while trying to get on the end of Leroy Sane’s cross.

It was a similar story back in January when Sterling stayed on his feet after being clearly pushed by Tottenham defender Kyle Walker.

Wenger was aggrieved by the penalty decision and the fact David Silva appeared to be off-side in the build-up to Gabriel Jesus’s third goal.

He hit out at the match officials afterwards and accused them of killing the game, but it appears there is little prospect of him apologising to either Guardiola or Oliver.