Erling Haaland has broken his silence on a chaotic moment in Manchester City’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal which saw the striker throw the ball at Gabriel’s head.
City were celebrating John Stones’s last-gasp equaliser with the home side having trailed 2-1 until the eighth minute of stoppage time last month.
In the immediate aftermath of the goal, Haaland could be seen picking the ball up and launching it directly at the back of the Arsenal defender’s head.
Whether the throw was intentional or not, it lit the touch paper between the two stars on the final whistle, with both sets of players and coaching staff getting involved.Â
Now the Norwegian has finally given his side of the story, with the goal machine refusing to apologise for the bizarre incident between the two title rivals.
Erling Haaland has broken his silence on a chaotic moment in Manchester City ‘s 2-2 draw with Arsenal which saw the striker throw the ball at Gabriel’s headÂ
City were celebrating John Stones ‘s last-gasp equaliser with the home side having trailed 2-1
Haaland grabbed the ball after John Stones’ equaliser and threw it at the back of Gabriel’s head
Asked whether he regretted the post-goal bedlam, Haaland said: ‘I don’t regret much in life.’
The centre-forward added: ‘In the heat of the moment things happened in that game. What happens on the pitch, stays on the pitch. That’s how it is.’
Ten-man Arsenal looked to be holding on for a famous victory at the Etihad, after midfielder Leandro Trossard was sent-off before half-time.
But Stones and co had other ideas, putting in a dogged effort that left both teams sharing a point.
The Englishman entered the contest in the 78th minute in place of Kyle Walker, who was at right back.
And the centre-back was lumped up top alongside superstar Haaland as City threw the kitchen sink at Arsenal to find an equaliser, which they did.
Shortly after the crunch match in the title race, it was revealed that the Norwegian, who has ten goals already this campaign, would not face any retrospective punishment for his actions.
VAR reviewed the incident and deemed that no action was necessary at the time, a decision upheld following the conclusion of the game.Â
The bad blood did not end there. Straight from the restart, Haaland bundled into Thomas Partey and sent the midfielder to the floor in a heap, sparking a brawl with Gabriel and his Gunners team-mates just inside the Arsenal half.
Micah Richards admitted that it’s positive ‘to see a bit of needle’ ahead of what promises to be another enthralling title race, but fellow pundit Roy Keane urged that throwing the ball at the back of someone’s head is a step too far.
Haaland sparked a melee at the end of Sunday’s thrilling match, which ended in a 2-2 draw
Arsenal were devastated after conceding at the death – having defended brilliantly with 10 men for the entirety of the second half against the perennial Premier League champions
Roy Keane urged that the ball throwing incident was a step too far after the heated clash
Micah Richards, right, agreed but admitted it was ‘good to see a bit of needle’ between them
‘You don’t need that, you don’t need that,’ Keane said on Sky Sports after the match. ‘Someone throwing the back of your head… I don’t mind that bit (Haaland’s spat with Gabriel after bundling over Partey), but you don’t need that.’
When asked if Haaland should be criticised for his behaviour in those moments, Richards said: ‘Well, the ball in the back of the head’s not good, but all the needle stuff, no that’s what you want.
‘He’s up against two centre-halves (Gabriel and William Saliba) who’ve had the better of him over the last couple of games. He’s scored today, he’s happy, that’s the difference.’