Erling Haaland has intensified the psychological battle in the Premier League title race after Manchester City's crucial 2-1 victory over Arsenal on Sunday. The win cut Arsenal's lead at the top to just three points, with City holding a game in hand, and Haaland was quick to remind the Gunners of their recent failures.
When asked if City were living in Arsenal's heads, Haaland said: "I don't know. You need to ask them. The last seasons they've come up short." His comments come as Arsenal face accusations of 'bottling' the title, having finished second in each of the previous three seasons and now losing four of their last six matches across all competitions.
However, former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy has defended Arsenal, arguing that their performance at the Etihad did not show signs of a collapse. Writing in his BBC column, Murphy stated: "I have heard lots of criticism of Arsenal recently - how they have bottled it in games or are falling away again when it matters - but that was certainly not the case on Sunday." He noted that Arsenal created good chances and could have won on another day.
Murphy added: "The reason Arsenal will be kicking themselves is because we did not see this intensity when they lost at home to Bournemouth last week. Maybe that was because they are playing a lot of games at the moment and energy was a factor, but I think it is more to do with mindset."
Arsenal now face a must-win home game against Newcastle on Saturday, as anything less could effectively hand the title to City, who have won four of the last five Premier League crowns.
