Erling Haaland sends Man City pressure message ahead of huge Arsenal title showdown | OneFootball

All eyes on Etihad Stadium as Arsenal face title rivals

Erling Haaland insists that he is not feeling the pressure and that Manchester City have “nothing to lose” when they face Arsenal in a huge Premier League title showdown today.

City, second in the league, are six points behind the league leaders with six games remaining, although Pep Guardiola’s men have a game in hand on the Gunners.

Should City beat Arsenal this afternoon and then defeat Burnley, they would move level on points with the north London club, and perhaps even leapfrog them, depending on goal difference.

Haaland has scored 22 goals in 31 Premier League games so far, and the Norwegian does not believe that City should approach this game with any pressure on their shoulders. He has not scored in his last four games.

"Right now, I'm quite calm," he told Sky Sports.

"It's one game a week, which is really unusual for us.

"It barely happens. Honestly, I don't feel a lot of nerves or anything, because we've been chasing all season and we've got nothing to lose, so I don't have any pressure.

Haaland found himself in an infamous tussle with Gabriel last season, with the Arsenal defender screaming in the big striker’s face during the 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium back in September 2024.

Haaland threw a ball at Gabriel’s head and told Arsenal boss Arteta to “stay humble” in the aftermath, as the City forward clashed with several Gunners players, including former City man Gabriel Jesus.

"It's always a fight,” Haaland said of games against Arsenal.

“They normally have loads of players around me, which is a good thing for me. That means it's a good thing.

"It's not easy to play against many players around me, but it's always a nice fight. It's always good, as I said, to play against the best, because that's something you want to do."

Today’s visitors arrive in patchy form. They have won just once in their last five games, with an unconvincing 0-0 draw against Sporting Lisbon last time out as they scraped into the Champions League semi-finals.