Pep Guardiola’s side have the initiative and are chock-full of confidence, while Arsenal are now utterly lacking in hope, in danger of becoming the ultimate content lords of the social media banter-sphere
You bet it’s me. Erling Haaland. I’m the guy who spends over an hour doing shuttle runs near a game of football, a paid spectator on the pitch. But then I’m also the guy who pops up at the crucial moment, reflexes sharp and cat-like, to bang it in with my shin and send Manchester City flying towards the title.
It is not quite true that Haaland did next to nothing on the pitch before his goal. On the contrary he was one half of a duo in a thematic duelling contest that formed a major subplot of the affair at the Etihad, grappling and wrestling and falling over with Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhaes.
This was not unexpected. In a way it was also quite fun to watch, a gripping mini-event, a meme-able moment, content for social media banterland. This was a case of two posterboys for their respective teams going head to head, each determined to dominate the other.
Gabriel an epitome of Arsenal’s solid defensive approach, their set-piece ability, the desire to stifle and suffocate and nullify. Do nothing. Let the other guy lose. And Haaland, the embodiment of City’s attacking style, out there catching the eye like an overly ripe fruit, nimble and persistent, ever threatening to blow the other side away. Outwit the opponent, break down their defence and score. In a way the clash between these two was a microcosm of the entire game.
Watching this there was always the possibility that one of these guys would lose it and jab the other in the eye. At one point City’s defenders were under pressure and hoofed the ball upfield, and in the distance were Haaland and Gabriel wrestling each other for the ball while it went out for a throw at what felt like a mile away from them. There was also the moment when they yanked each other’s shirts and went down, the right sleeve of Haaland’s compression top almost completely torn off.
The winning moment 💫
🪄 @ErlingHaaland pic.twitter.com/vauA4Gol7A
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 19, 2026
Inevitably it boiled down to shoving and then head-pressing. Gabriel struck out in a forward motion with his head. It was not quite a headbutt as he did not pull his head backwards, but he probably would have been sent off if Haaland had gone to the ground.
But Haaland did not, which is quite characteristic of him. Here is one of the world’s most prolific and capable strikers, a half-bully on the pitch, dominating defenders with his freakish build. But here is also a really nice guy who spends half the time on the pitch with a warm smile, and off the pitch making YouTube videos and visiting kids on Christmas disguised as Santa Claus. Most footballers would have gone down clutching their face to elicit the red card, but not Haaland. A walking, portable breath of fresh air, a footballing mascot. Haaland is a nice guy. You want Erling Haaland to hug you.
Both players were shown the yellow card for engaging in the scuffle. It needs to be said that Haaland had started it when he shoved Gabriel. All in all, it was the Arsenal defender losing here. He had been caught on his heels 20 minutes earlier when Haaland reacted quickly, a Viking on a penalty-box raid, fighting off the challenge from the Arsenal centre-back and converting Nico O’Reilly’s cross to hand City the initiative in the Premier League. Now Pep Guardiola’s side have it all in their hands. Win their remaining games and the title is almost certainly theirs.
A little thought is to be spared for the Arsenal fan, who could quite realistically now with teary eyes watch his team go from a quadruple to a quadnothing in two months, finishing second again in the Premier League for the fourth time running, completing their transformation into the ultimate content lords of the social media banter-sphere.
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 19, 2026
There is nothing quite like this. It needs to be said that, at least for now, Arsenal are still top of the Premier League and in the semi-finals of the Champions League. That is a dream position for many teams. They are quite as close as can be to triumphing in both competitions. Yet Gooners are now utterly lacking in hope that they can achieve that. No other team in Europe is this good while being this bad.
After City’s victory at the Etihad, as a defiant Mikel Arteta headed down the tunnel and Guardiola, in his baggy granddad trousers and turtle-necked long-sleeved shirt, bounced around the pitch congratulating his players and waving to the crowd, there was Haaland in his long, flowing hair, bare-chested and all smiles, drinking in the adulation of the fans. Panic on the streets of London, a boldface sign read in the stands of the Etihad. City, on the other hand, are chock-full of confidence with only a handful of games to go.
