Erling Haaland calls Arsenal star ‘f***ing clown’ and fumes at Mikel Arteta post-match | Football | Sport

Manchester City star Erling Haaland labelled Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus a ‘f***ing clown’ after the pair got into a war of words on Sunday.

The striker opened the scoring over their rivals in the ninth minute before Arsenal turned the game on its head thanks to Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel, who both found the back of the net with goals which City felt should have been disallowed.

Arsenal were then reduced to 10 men after Leandro Trossard’s dismissal, prompting Mikel Arteta to deploy defensive-minded tactics in the hope of clinging on to the one-goal lead. City eventually equalised through John Stones in the 98th minute, prompting tempers to flare among both teams.

While shaking the hands of his opponents, Haaland made a dig at Arteta which sparked a flare-up between the two clubs. The Norwegian said: “Stay humble, eh, stay humble, eh,” whilst touching the arm of the Gunners boss.

The parting words prompted Jesus to confront Haaland about his remarks, questioning why he made the comments. Haaland responded by saying: “Talking about what? I wasn’t talking about f***ing clown.

“What you talking about… Get the f*** away you f***ing clown.” The City striker then pushed Jesus, with Arteta and other members of staff pulling the Brazil international away.

It wasn’t the first time in the match that Haaland had exchanged words with another Arsenal player. Whilst scuffling with Gabriel, Gunners academy graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly raced towards the incident to provide some support to his teammate.

Haaland did not take kindly to the debutant emerging on the scene though, appearing to say: “Who the f*** are you?” to the midfielder.

The feud between the two outfits looks set to continue for many months to come, with several City players taking aim at their rivals for how they set up at the Etihad, including Manuel Akanji and Stones.

Bernardo Silva made a pointed dig at the Gunners as well, playing down any potential rivalry by saying that Liverpool were more competitive in years gone by, explaining to TNT Sports Brazil: “The difference? I don’t know. Maybe that Liverpool have already won a Premier League, Arsenal haven’t. That Liverpool have won a Champions League, Arsenal haven’t.

Liverpool always faced us face to face to try to win the games, so by this perspective, the games against Arsenal haven’t been like the ones we had and have against Liverpool. So yes, maybe a different rivalry.”

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