One of the Premier League’s most compelling rivalries is about to continue on the international stage.
It’s fair to say there’s no love lost between Gabriel Magalhaes and Erling Haaland.
The pair have spent the last four seasons locked in probably the most entertaining personal battle English football has seen in years.
Bouncing a ball off the back of heads. Shirts ripped. Heads thrust forward. A 5-1 thrashing. A late dagger. Social media digs.
Their rivalry has had plenty to talk about, and on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in New York, it continues at the World Cup.
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Erling Haaland comments on Gabriel Magalhaes ahead of World Cup encounter
Haaland has been in typically devastating form at the tournament. He scored the winner as Norway beat Ivory Coast in the round of 32, taking his tally to five goals. Only Lionel Messi (seven) and Kylian Mbappe (six) boast more.
Gabriel, meanwhile, has been solid for Brazil, providing the assist for Casemiro’s equaliser against Japan before Gabriel Martinelli grabbed the stoppage-time winner.
When asked ahead of the game what it means to face Gabriel again, and whether the Arsenal defender is one of the best he has faced, Haaland was laid back in his response, as usual.
“Yeah, he’s an amazing player, he just won the Premier League so all respect to him,” he said, via Caze TV.
“But don’t forget Marquinhos won the Champions League two years in a row, don’t forget Alisson has won every single trophy, so it’s not just him — the whole team is really good and the defence is really good.
“If you are Brazil, and you have a lot of people to choose from, you should have Champions League winners, you should have Premier League winners, and you should have the best players in the world, because it’s Brazil.”
The Gabriel Magalhaes vs Erling Haaland rivalry has been at the heart of recent title battles
Their battles will have been extraordinary to watch for the neutral. Haaland celebrated a late John Stones equaliser at the Etihad in 2024 by bouncing the ball off Gabriel’s head, summing up the needle between the two.
Gabriel responded in the reverse fixture by screaming in his face after Martin Odegaard’s opener as Arsenal battered them 5-1.
Last season, Gabriel ripped the shirt off Haaland’s back and was fortunate to escape a red card when he appeared to push his head towards the Man City striker’s.
Haaland scored the winner at the Etihad in April and smugly sang Flo Rida’s ‘Good Feeling’ to the camera at full time, convinced at the time that the title was heading back to Manchester.
Obviously, that didn’t happen, and Gabriel made sure to get his own back immediately after the Gunners were confirmed as champions.
Arsenal fans may not like Haaland, but he is objectively one of the most fearsome strikers English football has ever seen, and naturally commands respect because of that.
Gabriel, however, is unfazed. And on Sunday, they go again. This time with a World Cup quarter-final place at stake.
The Arsenal fanbase will be split on who to get behind, with Odegaard partnering Haaland for Norway.
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