Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta declared William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes have a "happy marriage" as he backed his defenders after their public spat at Leicester City.
A heated coming together between the pair at the end of Arsenal's 1-0 win on Saturday came to light after the game, but Arteta insists it should be viewed as a positive.
With Arsenal hunting down a first Premier League title since the 2003-04 season, Arteta said there is no room for "robots" in his team.
He wants to see personality, even if it means his players jostling each other on the pitch at times.
"They are a happy marriage," Arteta said. "They love playing with each other, but they are very demanding with each other. This is good and everything's fine.
"I don't want robots, I want players with feeling, with passion, that demand from each other. At the end they have that chemistry. Those two certainly have that chemistry on and off the field."
Arsenal had the likes of Kolo Toure, Ashley Cole and Sol Campbell in their last title-winning defence, and Arteta is glad his team have similarly imposing personalties.
The Gunners face Everton on Wednesday, and victory would take them to 60 points from 25 games. They would be matching a club record, having also totted up 60 from 25 in 2003-04 and 2007-08.
Arsenal have won 99 of their 203 league games against Everton (D43 L61), and can become the first team in English league history to achieve 100 victories against an opponent.
They lost 1-0 at Everton at the start of February, however, in what was Sean Dyche's first game as Toffees boss.
This time, Arteta says it can be a different story as his side attempt to pull five points clear of Manchester City.
"It's a case of doing things better than we did when we played them a few weeks ago and earning the right to win the game," he said. "Hopefully tomorrow we'll play better than we did.
"With Sean it's quite clear what he's done and where the success they've had is coming from.
"With every manager it's the same. We have to look at certain matches and try to get the right tactics to beat them but also the same mentality and high expectation that we demand in the game."
While Arsenal flourish, the same cannot be said for London rivals Chelsea, who are withering in mid-table despite a huge spend on new players.
Arteta feels empathy towards beleaguered Chelsea head coach Graham Potter, who revealed last week he has received malicious emails wishing death on him and loved ones as the Blues struggle to find form.
Although he declined to say whether he experienced similar during his own difficult times at Arsenal, Arteta made it clear he understood the pain Potter is experiencing.
"Absolutely, we are colleagues," Arteta said, "and we all know the pressure and the demands and the uncertainty this industry has.
"At the end the ball has to go into the net. There are many factors that sometimes prevent it that you cannot control. Of course, you empathise because you suffered it, and you know how it is when you're going through these moments."
Arteta has managed to switch off when away from work, even when he was facing pressure to deliver results. Consecutive finishes of eighth, eighth and fifth have preceded this season's concerted title tilt.
"You can have difficulties in your job and challenges which we do, when you lose but when you're winning as well, because this job is so demanding," Arteta said.
"But you cannot destroy your life because of that. Your family, your friends, your loved ones don't deserve it to affect their lives in such a negative way because you don't win a football match.
"That balance in my case was critical, but you need some help. Sometimes when you are in that position, it's not easy to see it."
'We really let ourselves down' - Coleman slams Everton after late Bournemouth collapse
Seamus Coleman acknowledged Everton "really let ourselves down" and must "look at ourselves in the mirror" following their spectacular late collapse against Bournemouth.
Sean Dyche's side, who were seeking their first points of the season, led 2-0 in the 87th minute at Goodison Park through goals from Michael Keane and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
However, the hosts were undone by three crosses in the latter stages, with Antoine Semenyo pulling a goal back and Lewis Cook levelling, before Luis Sinisterra completed a sensational turnaround in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Boos rung around Goodison Park as the Toffees remained pointless and rooted to the foot of the Premier League table, and Coleman echoed the supporters' frustrations.
"We really let ourselves down in front of our fans," the skipper said. "We cannot take our foot off the gas at this level. Unfortunately, we did that.
"We cannot be conceding the goals that we did. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror."
Meanwhile, Dyche bemoaned the lack of responsibility amongst his players, as they became the first side in Premier League history to lose a game after leading by two or more goals in the 87th minute.
"We did so much right until they scored their first goal," the Everton head coach said. "The game should have been out of sight. We conceded one and then threw it away. I can't put my finger on it right now.
"They kept raining it forward and got their reward in the end. They were playing it forward and crossing it into the box, and we didn't deal with it. Simple stuff, but we threw it away. It is the third game we have thrown away this season.
"Everyone was looking at someone else to deal with things and that is when there is trouble. You could see the body language change. You have to see games through, and we have enough experience to do that, but today we didn't."
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola added: "It was the worst game we played this season. Everton deserved to win today, but the players kept pushing.
"I always have hope because this team has spirit. We have done it before and had some good comebacks. The spark of the first goal made us believe we could do it again."
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life without Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
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