Gabriel pushed him — Guardiola defends Haaland's 'stay humble' comment

Gabriel pushed him — Guardiola defends Haaland's 'stay humble' comment

Faruq Ibrahim 18:41 - 02.02.2025

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola defended Haaland for his controversial comment.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has defended Erling Haaland’s disrespectful behaviour in their first-leg clash against Arsenal, ahead of the second-leg at the Emirates. 

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What happened 

Arsenal and Manchester City have gone head-to-head for the Premier League title in the last two seasons, and on both occasions, the Cityzens pipped the North London side to glory.

This has made for feisty matchups against each other. Earlier in the season, Pep Guardiola’s side needed a late John Stones equaliser to escape defeat against an Arsenal side that were down to ten men for the larger part of the game. 

After the final whistle, a frustrated Erling Haaland, having been kept largely quiet by Arsenal's centre-back partnership, condescendingly patted Mikel Arteta on the back and followed with the now infamous line, “Stay humble, eh.” 

Haaland spoke to Arteta after the first leg (Photo Credit: Screenshot from the Skysports video)

What Guardiola said 

Ahead of the second leg at the Emirates today, Pep was unavoidably asked about the incident earlier in the season, and he came to the defence of his Norwegian ace. 

He explained that Haaland was manhandled for most of the match, and the statement was him uncharacteristically letting out some of the frustration. 

"For Erling, it's not easy," said Guardiola, per the BBC. "Arsenal is a physical team, in a good way, in many aspects.

"For 90 minutes, the central defender, Gabriel, push him, hack him, hug him and kiss him. The Premier League is that way.

"You have to stand up and defend your position. And now I am being asked to adjudicate on what Erling has done? I don't buy it. The end of the game was so emotional. In the end, a human being has to react."

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