Laurent Koscielny says Arsene Wenger "lost it a bit" during the Arsenal manager's touchline altercation with Chelsea counterpart Jose Mourinho last weekend.
Wenger, 64, pushed 51-year-old Mourinho as the two came together in front of the dug-outs during Chelsea's 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Wenger claimed afterwards he was merely attempting to see how his forward, Alexis Sanchez, was following a crunching Gary Cahill challenge on the Chilean.
Koscielny, 29, acknowledged, however, that Wenger's grip on his usual self-control had slackened.
"There's a long friendship between them," joked the centre-back of the long-standing frosty relationship between the two head coaches.
"It's one of those things that happens in a game. It came about after a firm tackle by Cahill on Sanchez, and the coach was annoyed because Alexis had had the same thing done to him three days earlier against Galatasaray and the defender had only been booked. That's why Arsene lost it a bit."
Against Chelsea, Koscielny tripped Eden Hazard to present the Belgian with the opportunity to give the hosts the lead. It was the seventh spot-kick the former Lorient defender has conceded in the Premier League since his arrival in England for the 2010-11 season.
"It's true that I've given away a large number of penalties. I don't know if there's a category for that in the Guinness Book of Records," he joked.
"Between Arsenal and France, I must have played 200 matches and given away eight penalties. It's true that that's a lot. If I could give them away when we are 4-0 up it would be better."