Arsenal given encouragement they can nullify Erling Haaland, one hidden stat stands out
Man City striker Erling Haaland broke yet another record after his performance in the Champions League, but may face difficulty against Arsenal.
Man City kicked off their European campaign in perfect fashion as Pep Guardiola’s side beat Napoli 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium. However, Kevin De Bruyne’s reunion at Man City was cut short after he was sacrificed following Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s red card.
Meanwhile, Haaland carried on his goal-scoring form after he netted the opener, with Jeremy Doku scoring the second goal to settle the tie.
The Norwegian reached another milestone during the win, after Haaland hit his 50th Champions League goal, which means he’s become the fastest player to reach this feat.
However, he faces Arsenal’s dominant defence on 21 September, and he will face a difficult outing following the statistics of his recent performances against the Gunners.
| Player | Fewest games to reach 50 Champions League goals |
| Erling Haaland | 49 games |
| Ruud Van Nistelrooy | 62 |
| Lionel Messi | 66 |
| Robert Lewandowski | 77 |
Haaland may face isolation against well organised Arsenal defence
The fixture comes with a tense rivalry as Haaland and Gabriel Magalhaes were involved in a bust-up last term, with the striker also telling Mikel Arteta to “stay humble” at the Etihad.
It seems as if Arsenal have a plan whenever they come up against the 25-year-old, as he has averaged just 19 touches against the Gunners over the last two seasons [CBS Sports].
It seems as if Gabriel and William Saliba relish the challenge when they come up against Haaland, keeping him quiet in the 2023-24 season in both fixtures, blanking twice.
Last term, he touched the ball just 10 times, completed two passes, and lost all of his ground duels [FotMob] at the Emirates, and Troy Deeney expects Haaland to face difficulty against Arsenal.
Haaland’s scoring record against Arsenal is telling
With Haaland signing a long-term contract at Man City and Gabriel also signing an extension, their battles on the pitch will look to continue, starting with this weekend.
While Arsenal’s defence have not conceded a single open play goal this term, Haaland has netted four times against them in six attempts since his arrival.
The striker rarely needs many touches to score, but the Gunners have conceded just 0.59 expected goals in their last four games across all competitions, with the new defensive partnership of Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel proving difficult to break down. Now, Haaland may face his biggest challenge so far.