Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Erling Haaland is fit and available for Sunday's Carabao Cup final against Arsenal, allaying fears of an injury after the striker was substituted in Manchester City's Champions League defeat to Real Madrid.
Haaland, who has scored only four goals in his last 17 appearances, was replaced by Omar Marmoush with over 30 minutes remaining at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night. City needed three goals to force extra time but ultimately lost 5-1 on aggregate, with Vinicius Jnr scoring a second-half brace.
After being substituted, Haaland was seen shaking his head on the bench. However, Guardiola dismissed any injury concerns, stating: 'Erling Haaland has no injury. He will be available against Arsenal in the Cup final.'
Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, speaking on Amazon Prime Sport, questioned the decision to take Haaland off. 'I would like to have seen him stay on longer and for City to try and score the second goal,' Rooney said. 'Pep and Haaland knew the tie was over so they chose to rest him.'
