Arsenal’s celebrations showed just how much Erling Haaland has been living in their heads.
Gabriel Magalhaes screaming in Haaland’s face as he ran past to celebrate Martin Odegaard’s opening goal after 84 seconds. Myles Lewis-Skelly dropping to the floor and crossing his legs to mimic Haaland’s yoga meditation celebration after adding a third.
Lewis-Skelly’s moment of provocative mischief felt like the youthful abandon of a 18-year-old loving life. But there was something darker in Gabriel’s reaction to a goal going in 70 yards away.
It was evident in his eyes; the way his mouth stretched wide, the bared teeth. Gabriel had been waiting for this moment for five months.
And like a man possessed he let it all out, sprinting around Haaland, yelling in his face.
It’s hard to tell what, specifically, it was retribution for. Haaland lobbing the ball into the back of his head after John Stones scored a late equaliser at the Etihad in September, perhaps.
Or when Haaland hurtled towards Gabriel and smashed him to the ground from the resulting kick-off.
More likely a combination of many things – part of an explosive rivalry developing between these sides in recent years – as rage burst out of Gabriel’s every pore after Odegaard scored.
Ater their Etihad battle, Gabriel said it was an act of “war”. “Now we are waiting for them at our ground.”
This had been simmering ever since. And there they were, in the trenches again, this time on Gabriel’s turf. Their rivalry could go on for years.
Gabriel had something of a handle on Haaland. Letting him know he was there. The little nudges and pushes (that would floor most people) acted as a distraction to Haaland’s otherwise singular focus on scoring.
When City players looked to cross, Haaland sought those tiny pockets of space but Gabriel would stick out a hand, shove him back when he tried to make a run, block to restrict movement, disrupt flow.
Haaland had a horror show of a first half: six touches of the ball, one completed pass, zero everything else. Yet, in typical Haaland fashion, he equalised with his first shot, 10 minutes into the second half.
Gabriel and William Saliba took turns to pick up Haaland, Gabriel sometimes going with Omar Marmoush when City’s new signing went deeper looking for ball – and this time Saliba was on duty when Savinho hit a tantalising cross.
Haaland got in front of his man to bury an impressive header past David Raya.
After his goal in the last game, maybe a sign that Haaland is starting to find the weaker joints and fine cracks in a defensive partnership that restricted him to no shots on target in three straight matches.
Still, in the context of this game, it mattered little.
A minute later a huge deflection off Stones put Arsenal back in front, before Lewis-Skelly dribbled the ball into City’s penalty area then found space for a shot with a quick shuffle to make it three.
Then Arsenal went wild, Kai Havertz and Ethan Nwaneri making it five for a statement win that will have been noted in Liverpool.
At the final whistle, Gabriel and Haaland did not shake hands.
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