Gabriel: Arsenal star relishing Erling Haaland reunion after previous history with Man City striker | OneFootball

Title rivals lock horns this weekend

Your matchday briefing on Arsenal, featuring team news and expert analysis from Simon Collings

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Mikel Arteta says Gabriel will relish the physical battle with Erling Haaland when Arsenal host Manchester City on Sunday.

Gabriel and Haaland were involved in fiery encounters last season when the two sides met in the Premier League.

Haaland threw a ball at the back of Gabriel’s head when City scored a late equaliser at the Etihad in the first encounter last season.

Gabriel then shouted in Haaland’s face when Arsenal scored during their 5-1 win over them at Emirates Stadium later in the campaign.

The two will come head to head again on Sunday, when the Gunners host City at the Emirates for the first time this season, and the Arsenal boss believes the Brazilian has the physical capacity to go toe to toe with Haaland - and any of the top strikers in the world.

“It’s his qualities,” said Arteta. “One of them is that he can get up to anybody in the world.

“He’s someone that really enjoys the defensive part, the contact, the physicality. When the game has to get to that part, he enjoys it.

“That’s a big quality to have and it’s very needed with someone like him [Haaland] as well, who is so physical. You need to have those qualities to be efficient.

“I think it’s efficiency, the word that you want to use with defenders. In relation to the quality of your opponent, how you’re going to adapt your qualities to resolve a lot of situations.

“If you don’t have to have any contact and it’s not needed, even better. But Gabi has both, I think.”