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Fans have hit out at Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland for his pre-match interview ahead of his side's 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday (October 8).
The Cityzens suffered their second consecutive league defeat of the season as Gabriel Martinelli's 86th-minute deflected strike secured all three points for the Gunners. It was the first time Mikel Arteta had beaten Pep Guardiola in the Premier League in seven attempts, having lost the other six.
Haaland was confident heading into Sunday's game at the Emirates, insisting he hadn't thought about Arsenal's threat. He was asked by Sky Sports what sort of challenge last season's title rivals posed:
"I don't know I didn't think too much about it. We come here and try to play our game that's our focus I think."
The prolific Norwegian frontman was extremely quiet on the day, not registering a single shot all game. It was the fifth game in a row across competitions that the 22-year-old had failed to score. It was a surprising statistic given his extraordinary form since joining City.
Haaland has bagged eight goals and two assists in 12 games across competitions this season. That takes him on to 60 goals and 11 assists in 65 games since joining Guardiola's side in July 2022.
Fans have questioned last season's Premier League and UEFA Champions League top scorer's mentality heading into the game against Arsenal. One fan reckons he was too arrogant:
"There is a fine line, and this is exactly that. Arrogance."
Another fan compared his ego to Cristiano Ronaldo's:
"Ego of Ronaldo, ability of Nketiah."
Here's how fans on X (formerly Twitter) reacted to the City superstar's pre-match comments:
Alan Pardew questions whether Haaland is emotionally detached following disappointing Arsenal performance
Former Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has concerns about Haaland's mentality at the moment. He feels that the Norwegian is losing interest as he's not in the game enough and alluded to the mentality of strikers he's worked with (via talkSPORT):
"He emotionally gets involved with someone on the sidelines as he's walking off the pitch yet actually on the pitch he looked unemotional at times. Sometimes when you are a striker, I've had many strikers come to me over the years and say, 'I wasn't in the game gaffer, I didn't get enough of the ball'. You kind of become emotionally detached."
The Norway international picked up where he left off last season with eight goals in his first six league games. However, he's without a Premier League goal since netting in a 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest on September 23.
Pardew thinks his problems stem from his lack of involvement in City's play:
"That's where I think he's at at City at the moment he looks like he's not enough in the game to bring the best out of him."
Haaland was kept quiet by superb performances from Arsenal defensive duo Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba. He was a thorn in the Gunners' side last season, bagging two goals and two assists in two league games.
