Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta fretted that the only way to stop Manchester City’s unrelenting talisman Erling Haaland is to block off the service to him.
Haaland has enjoyed a blistering start to the 2025–26 campaign, rattling in six goals across City’s first five matches as well as six in two games for Norway. The 25-year-old nabbed his 50th home Premier League goal last season and brought up a half-century of strikes in the Champions League in midweek, becoming the fastest player in the competition’s history to hit that lofty figure.
Pep Guardiola could scarcely be blamed for comparing his reliable finisher to the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Much like that legendary duo, Arteta conceded that you’ve already lost the battle to keep Haaland in check if he gets the ball.
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Speaking ahead of City’s trip to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon, the Arsenal boss was asked how he planned on stopping the seemingly inevitable. “There are a lot of things that you have to get right,” Arteta mused. “He’s a player who doesn't need much space, much time or situations to generate big chances, especially in and around the box. Sometimes, preventing the source is the best thing to do, and we have to do it again.”
Blocking the flow of passes into Haaland is easier said than done. In the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, another common scourge for the Gunners, there is no one obvious supply line for the burly Norwegian. Haaland’s six goals for City this season have been assisted by half a dozen different players.
Phil Foden provided the artful dink for Haaland to loop his header over Napoli’s Vanja Milinković-Savić on Thursday night. The England international has enjoyed a resurgence of late and will certainly be one of the creative outlets Arteta is keen on muzzling.
Arsenal have rarely been able to escape Haaland’s clinical edge. City’s No. 9 boasts four goals in six Premier League appearances against the Gunners, including one in each fixture last season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mikel Arteta Reveals Arsenal’s Plan to Muzzle Record-Breaking Erling Haaland.
