- Man City play Arsenal this weekend
- Chance to close gap on Premier League leaders
- Erling Haaland complimentary of Arteta’s team
Erling Haaland has played down Manchester City’s rivalry with Arsenal, while sounding the Gunners’ praises.
Manchester City and Arsenal are not historic rivals, and they are separated by some distance geographically.
However, the two teams have competed for the Premier League title on multiple occasions in recent years.
Erling Haaland once iconically told Mikel Arteta to stay humble and this is just one example of when things got heated during one of their meetings.
Erling Haaland heaps praise on Arsenal
Despite multiple instances of conflict between City and Arsenal, Haaland has spoken highly of the team he will hope to tear down on Sunday.
The striker could have ripped into the Premier League leaders for their poor form, but he has instead highlighted their success in both England and Europe.
"I don't know if there's any friction…" 😮 pic.twitter.com/2Ka6XYxJuT
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 17, 2026
“I don’t know if there’s any friction,” Haaland told Sky Sports. “They want to win, we want to win. In the end it’s nice and it’s always good to play against the best teams.
“They are in the semi-final of the Champions League, that means they’re one of the best teams in Europe.
“They’re first place in the Premier League, they’ve been that the whole season, so they are without doubt one of the best teams.”
The Gunners lack longevity
Although Haaland has shown City’s next opponent respect, Arsenal have a very evident problem which has troubled them for years now.
They always fall away at the business end of the season, despite making a strong start and keeping this up, at least for a while.
Right now, Haaland has to accept that Arsenal are one of the best teams as that is what all the evidence points towards.
However, it is looking more likely that the Citizens will clinch at least two trophies this season, if not three.
Whereas the North London club could still end their campaign with nothing, as has been the case so often in recent years.
Man City will not be bothered by the rivalry aspect of this Sunday’s match
Whether Man City and Arsenal are rivals or not does not matter in the slightest to Pep Guardiola and his players.
Ultimately, City just need to focus on taking three points in order to push themselves closer to Premier League glory, after missing out on the title last season.
Haaland’s priority will be to cause problems for the defenders, with the aim of outscoring an Arsenal side who desperately need a result after three successive defeats.
There might be bad blood between some members of each dressing room and the fans certainly do not like each other.
Nevertheless, the most important thing about this weekend is that the Sky Blues get the job done and collect all three points at the Etihad Stadium.
