Pep Guardiola addresses Arteta’s comments on Haaland, praising the City striker’s exceptional qualities ahead of the City-Arsenal clash.

• Pep Guardiola acknowledges the challenge of stopping Erling Haaland, suggesting the best approach is to retain possession and limit his involvement.
• Guardiola praises Haaland’s exceptional attitude, behaviour, and dedication to football.
• Mikel Arteta highlights the importance of experience from ex-City players Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko in Arsenal’s squad.

In anticipation of the pivotal Premier League encounter between Manchester City and Arsenal, both managers have shared their thoughts on their respective teams and key players.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta expressed admiration for Erling Haaland, City’s fearsome forward, and spoken about the experience of ex-City players Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko in the Gunners’ squad.

He also discussed how he planned to deal with Haaland.

“With him, they have the capacity to play in different ways,” Arteta said. “Because when they play really far from your goal, they have the capacity to exploit open spaces. And when they are attacking low blocks, now they have a different threat, because they are a very physical team right now.

“Obviously, preventing it at the source is probably the best recipe [to stop Haaland scoring].”

Pep Guardiola, Manchester City’s manager, responded to Arteta’s comments on Haaland by acknowledging the difficulty of stopping the prolific striker.

Guardiola refrained from sharing any particular tactics for neutralising the Norwegian, instead suggesting that the opposition should aim to retain possession and limit Haaland’s involvement, as Arteta suggested.

“What he has shown in his career, not just here, it would be difficult,” said Guardiola. “But to be a team, to be as athletic as possible. When we played against him when he was at Borussia Dortmund, [the best way was] to have 70/80 percent of the ball, so he’s not involved as much as possible.”

Guardiola also praised Haaland’s exceptional attitude and dedication, noting his behaviour, mood, love for football, and the way he lives his life as exemplary.

“I said many times, exceptional,” he said. “Exceptional. We are really impressed with his behaviour, his mood, and the way he lives his life, his love for football, it’s exceptional.”

As the two teams prepare to face off in this high-stakes match, both managers are aware of the importance of experience and adaptability in their squads.

Arteta specifically highlighted the contributions of Jesus and Zinchenko, emphasising the value of their ability to share their knowledge with younger teammates.

Meanwhile, Guardiola is mindful of Arsenal’s aggressive playing style, noting that City must be ready for a challenging and high-intensity game.