UPDATED NEWS: Mikel Arteta’ responds to Erling Haaland “man city” after apologies

UPDATED NEWS: Mikel Arteta’ responds to Erling Haaland “man city” after apologies 

Before the Premier League match on Wednesday night, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta claimed Manchester City striker Erling Haaland couldn’t be compared to anyone else in his position.

Since joining the Blues from Borussia Dortmund last summer, Haaland has been in sensational form, tallying 48 goals and six assists in 42 matches in all competitions. The 22-year-old scored in City’s 3-1 league triumph over the Gunners earlier in the season when on target against them.

City currently sit five points behind the Gunners in the top-flight table, however, the Blues have two games in hand over the London outfit. Pep Guardiola’s side have won their last six matches in the Premier League, while Arsenal have drawn three league matches in succession.

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The Blues welcome Arsenal to the Etihad knowing a victory would give them the advantage in the title race, and Gunners boss Arteta was full of praise for Haaland ahead of the crunch match.

“When you look at the numbers there’s no comparison with anyone else,” he said during his pre-match press conference. “He’s able to produce that because the setup is done in the right way for him, the players that they’ve got around him, the way he’s coached, the qualities that he has.

“There are a lot of things that have to be in the right way. With him they have the capacity to play in different ways, when you play really far from your goal they have the capacity to exploit open spaces and when they’re attacking low blocks they have a different threat because they are a very physical team right now.”

Arteta said that he was drawing on the knowledge of former City teammates Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus. The former played for the Blues on 236 occasions while the latter appeared on 128 occasions during his stint at the Etihad.

Arteta emphasized the value of the now-Arsenal pair while speaking about their significance, saying: “The experience is vital when you’ve been in those times, how to handle those moments, to grasp the importance of certain things and the capacity to convey to the rest of the team are all very significant.

“Some of them are young but they have played a lot of football games already.”