Erling Haaland could live to regret his decision not to make more of his clash with Gabriel Magalhaes and get the Arsenal defender banned.
In the 83rd minute, Gabriel headbutted Haaland, and many think that the Arsenal defender should have been given his marching orders.
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VAR cleared the incident, and after the match, the Premier League confirmed that Gabriel’s headbutt was deemed not to be excessively aggressive or violent.
Haaland thinks Gabriel should have been sent off and reckons that had he gone to the floor, the 28-year-old would have been sent off.
A three-match ban now for Gabriel would have been a complete disaster for the Gunners in their final five games, and perhaps Haaland should have played the incident a bit smarter.
Erling Haaland should have got Gabriel Magalhaes sent off
Erling Haaland should have got Gabriel Magalhaes sent off, which would have seriously dented Arsenal’s title hopes.
Now, the Gunners will still have their best defender available and their biggest asset from set-pieces, which is very fortunate.
Speaking after the match about the incident, Haaland admitted: “Should I tell the referee, it doesn’t matter. Look at this! What is this!
“He (the ref) says it’s both (players). He says this all the time. If I want to go on the floor here, I think it would be a red.”
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The Man City striker is adamant that he would only have gone to the floor had the Brazilian actually hurt him, so fair play to the Norwegian.
Gabriel had a poor game against City, and his decision to clash with Haaland was a foolish one for such an experienced player.
The North London club can count themselves very lucky that no retrospective action will be taken against the defender, as they will need him in the final few matches.
The 28-year-old is probably going to be Arsenal’s best player this season, given Mikel Arteta’s team’s defensive record, along with his goals from corners.
But away at City, Gabriel had a torrid time against Haaland, and he should be thanking him for not making more of the clash.
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