Arsenal Legend Ian Wright calls Erling Haaland a “coward” amid Sunday’s fiery Premier League encounter against the gunners at the Etihad.
John Stone’s last-ditch equaliser set off a chain of altercations that brought back memories of some of Arsenal’s previous matches at Old Trafford over two decades ago. When Haaland celebrated Stones’ last minute equaliser by hurling the ball at defender Gabriel’s back of the head, former Gunners striker Wright did not hold back in his criticism of him.
Wright not pleased with Haaland’s ‘coward’ behaviour
The Brazilian defender had his head down with his shirt pulled over at that time and Wright reacted to the incident via his Instagram page:
He said: “You know what proper boiled me up, was Haaland’s coward’s move. Throwing the ball in Gaby’s head when he’s not looking, when Gaby’s back’s turned to him, a real coward’s move.”
“That’s what bothered me more than anything else. I thought you (Haaland) were bigger than that.”
The Football Association has officially stated that Haaland won’t be subject to any more punishment for the incident. Because it was investigated by VAR at the time and determined not to be a red card offence, the FA is unable to step in.
After scoring his 100th goal for City, Haaland had tied the record set by Cristiano Ronaldo, who had also scored 100 goals in 105 outings for a big European side.
Gabriel gave the visitors the lead after Riccardo Calafiori scored the equaliser on his first Gunners appearance. The visitors also had to play the second half with 10 men after Leandro Trossard was sent off for kicking the ball away right before the break.
Following the final whistle, Haaland was seen above referring to former City striker Gabriel Jesus as a “f***ing clown.” This was followed by a tense handshake with Mikel Arteta, during which Haaland advised the Gunners manager to “remain humble.”
