Erling Haaland belittled Mikel Arteta with a two-word message before launching a foul-mouthed tirade against Gabriel Jesus after Manchester City’s thrilling 2-2 draw with title rivals Arsenal on Sunday.
The City striker was in a fiery mood at the Etihad, throwing the ball at Gabriel’s head after John Stones’ last-gasp equaliser and appearing to say ‘who the f*** are you?’ to Arsenal’s 17-year-old substitute Myles Lewis-Skelly.
City had looked down and out when David Raya claimed the ball from a corner and subsequently launched it long for Kai Havertz to chase deep in stoppage time.
But eight minutes after the end of the 90, John Stones pounced on a deflection to ignite hysteria among the home fans, with City remaining top of the Premier League table.
In the aftermath Haaland’s approached Arsenal boss Arteta and told him to ‘stay humble’, while slapping the Spaniard on the shoulder.
Erling Haaland told Mikel Arteta to ‘stay humble’ after Man City’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal
The Manchester City striker was involved in a confrontation with Gabriel after throwing the ball at the back of the defender’s head
His behaviour caused a fracas between stars from both teams, with Arsenal left unimpressed
Gabriel Jesus took up his grievances before Haaland dismissed him as a ‘clown’ and told him to ‘get the f*** away’
Jesus did not take it as kind advice, confronting Haaland over his comment.
‘Come, why are you saying (this), talking?’ asked the Brazilian.
‘Talking about what? I wasn’t talking s***, clown,’ came Haaland’s retort as he towered over his opponent before shoving him.
‘Don’t touch me,’ said Jesus.
‘What are you talking about? Get the f*** away from me you f***ing clown,’ came Haaland’s final bite before Jack Grealish got in between them.
The rivalry has intensified between City and Arsenal in the last two seasons due to their close-fought battles for the Premier League title.
Haaland clearly feels that City, who have won four titles on the spin, are still top dogs despite Arsenal coming within a whisker of toppling them away from home.
The Norwegian ran onto a lovely through ball from Savinho just nine minutes into the latest grudge match on Sunday and poked past David Raya with ease to net his 100th goal for City.
Young substitute Myles Lewis-Skelly did not escape Haaland’s condescension as the striker appeared to say to him: ‘Who the f*** are you?’
Arteta watched on as his side let their lead slip in the eighth minute of stoppage time
John Stones (right) scored the equaliser for Manchester City with just seconds remaining on the clock
The defender saved City from what looked like a certain defeat against a 10-man Arsenal
Arsenal’s defenders looked crestfallen after failing to see out victory against their title rivals
Arsenal, however, did not lie down and whimper.
Riccardo Calafiori scored a beautiful curling effort to level the scores and Gabriel headed home in stoppage time in the first half to give ther Gunners a lead going into the break – despite Leandro Trossard getting sent off on the cusp of half-time.
It was a case of pinning their backs against the wall after the break and they held on resolutely against an increasingly frustrated City, who managed 33 shots.
They looked to have come away with a potentially season-defining victory until City once again worked the ball into the box from a short corner and Stones found the equaliser.
That was City’s latest goal on record in a Premier League match.
Haaland lit the fuse of fury in response, throwing the ball at the back of Gabriel’s head as the Gunners defender wrapped his shirt over his face in lamentation.
Players from both teams came together in a heated exchange after the stirker’s antics.
Pep Guardiola played down Haaland’s behaviour afterwards, saying: ‘I think it was emotions and that’s it.’
Erling Haaland toe-poked the ball past David Raya to score the opening goal of the game
The Norwegian’s strike was his 100th Premier League goal in just his 105th appearance for City
Arteta focused on the positives. ‘I’m so proud of the team. We played the game in a difficult context against the best team in the world,’ he said.
‘It’s already a miracle we played 56 minutes at the Etihad with 10 men. It’s unbelievable what we have done.’
That did not stop him from venting his irritation over Trossard’s dismissal: ‘It’s that obvious that it’s not necessary for me to comment,’ Arteta said. ‘It’s the second time. I’m 1727095319 expecting 100 Premier League games to be played as 10 against 11, or 10 against nine. Let’s see.
‘I think it is very obvious what people think of the red card. It is not my job to come here and judge what happened. My job is to survive in one of the most difficult environments there is in football for 55 minutes and try to get things done to survive.
‘It has already happened twice in five games which is very worrying to see in the best league.’
