Manchester City star Erling Haaland has praised Arsenal as the ‘best team’ in the Premier League this season. He also feels the Citizens are back in the title race following a 1-3 win.
Goals from Kevin De Bruyne (24’), Jack Grealish (72’) and Haaland (82’) sealed Manchester City a win at Arsenal. The result also moved Pep Guardiola’s side above Mikel Arteta’s men at the top of the table on goal difference. But the north Londoners have one game in hand.
De Bruyne took full advantage of a careless backpass from Takehiro Tomiyasu to break the deadlock on Wednesday night. The Belgian raced onto the ball and lifted a delightful finish over Aaron Ramsdale. Bukayo Saka (42’) would initially draw Arsenal level with a penalty.
But further mistakes from Arsenal saw Grealish and Haaland restore and build Manchester City’s advantage. Gabriel Magalhaes lost possession to free Bernardo Silva and Haaland to play Grealish in. Ramsdale may have saved his attempt without a deflection off Tomiyasu.
Oleksandr Zinchenko also left the Gunners scurrying to defend after turning the ball over in dangerous positions. While Ilkay Gundogan and De Bruyne cut through the home side to find Haaland open in the box. The forward found the far corner for his 26th goal this term.
Erling Haaland hails Arsenal for a superb season after Manchester City’s win
Despite Arsenal’s array of defensive errors during the second half against Manchester City, Haaland praises what Arteta’s squad have produced in the Premier League this season. He also says the Spaniard has made the Gunners a hard team to beat at the Emirates Stadium.
“We can all agree [Arsenal] has been the best team this season,” Haaland said, via quotes by BBC Sport. “So, to come and play against them is not easy. But we played an amazing game and got three really important points – we are in it again.”
Only Manchester City (31) have claimed more points than Arsenal (26) at home in the top-flight so far this term. But the Gunners have played one fixture fewer at the Emirates than their title rivals have at the Etihad. Arsenal (25) lead City (20) on the road on even games.
It means goal difference separates Manchester City (+36) from Arsenal (+26) at the top of the table. The two teams have also won a division-high 16 games from 23 and 22 matches respectively this season. While the Citizens (59) pip the Gunners (47) with the most goals.
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