Wayne Rooney suggests a strategy to stop Haaland in Saliba’s absence. Wayne Rooney, a former Manchester United player, has urged Arsenal to play their own brand of football as they try to contain Erling Haaland, a star striker for Manchester City.
On Wednesday (April 26), the Gunners travel to the Etihad to take on City in what could be the Premier League’s final title game. Despite having played two more games, Mikel Arteta’s team leads Pep Guardiola’s team by five points. They still have six games left in their quest for their first league championship since 2004.
Arsenal will have the duty of attempting to neutralize the threat posed by City forward Haaland. With 48 goals in 42 games across tournaments, the Norwegian striker has been a revelation for the Cityzens. 32 goals were scored in 28 league games. In the rematch in October, his team won 3-1 at the Emirates thanks to his goal.
Rooney has urged the Gunners to focus on their own performance as they attempt to contain Haaland. He hinted at the absence of William Saliba, who is recovering from a back injury. He published this in The Times: “How can Erling Haaland be stopped? The only option is to try to impose their own game as William Saliba’s injury makes it impossible to match his pace and strength separately.”
Throughout his legendary playing career, the Manchester United legend won five league championships. Rather than concentrating on the top scorer in the Premier League, he believes Arsenal should strive to expose their opponent’s defense: “Instead of putting too much emphasis on Haaland, Arsenal should concentrate on how to expose those City defenders. We need to approach the game with the attitude that “nobody expected us to be here, and now we’re playing for the title, so let’s go and take it.”
With a win, the Gunners will pull eight points ahead of Manchester City in the race for the crown. A loss at the Etihad, though, would give the defending champions the upper hand in the fight for the championship as they would pull ahead of Arsenal by two points.
Recently, Arteta’s team has faltered in the title chase. They have drawn their last three games: 2-2 with Liverpool, 2-2 with West Ham United, and 3-3 with Southampton. Saliba, who has been crucial for the league leaders throughout the season, is not included in that.
Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, lauds Haaland’s outstanding campaign with Manchester City:
Prior to the title-rival teams’ Wednesday matchup at the Etihad, Arsenal boss Arteta praised Haaland. According to the Gunners manager, the Norwegian is the best striker in the world (via football.london): “If you examine the numbers, there is no way to compare them to anyone else. Because the setup is done correctly for him, he can also generate it.”
The threat that City presented as a whole was then discussed by Arteta, who insisted that his team would keep its focus on itself: “We are addressing their weaknesses and threats. We are familiar with them. With City, the custodian is where it all begins. Observe us solely. We are aware of their potential. They are so versatile that you have to be flexible.”
Haaland has scored five goals in his last three league games, demonstrating his insatiable desire to score. Rob Holding and Gabriel Magalhaes will have to make an effort to keep him quiet.
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