Manchester City striker Erling Haaland said Arsenal defender Gabriel should have been sent off for an attempted headbutt during City’s 2-1 victory over the Gunners.
The pair reignited their rivalry on Sunday after Haaland outmuscled the Brazilian to score the winner. The tension boiled over when they squared up and Gabriel leaned his head into Haaland; both players were booked by referee Anthony Taylor.
Former official Mike Dean later suggested Gabriel was fortunate to avoid red, and Haaland agreed after the match. “I think it’s a red card,” he said. He added that his decision to stay on his feet — something his father taught him — probably spared Gabriel a harsher punishment. “Should I have gone down? Maybe. Then it would’ve been easier. But I didn’t and I got a yellow card. I don’t know why.”
Sky Sports’ Gary Neville also felt Gabriel had been lucky, saying on The Gary Neville Podcast that the forward movement toward another player’s head “is usually a red.” Neville said he was surprised Taylor booked both players the same, suggesting Haaland’s restraint prevented a sending off: “If he hits the deck, the whole landscape changes and the referee has a different situation to deal with.”
The incident was reviewed on Ref Watch by former referee Dermot Gallagher and pundit Jay Bothroyd, who disagreed. Gallagher described the double-yellow outcome as “very fair,” noting Gabriel’s head went to the front rather than through Haaland and praising Haaland’s responsibility for not going to ground. “Gabriel is very unwise with what he does… he runs a risk,” Gallagher said.
Bothroyd countered that Gabriel was lucky and argued the movement toward Haaland’s face constituted violent conduct. “When we look at the rules, it is violent conduct if you put your head into someone’s face,” he said. “That was violent conduct and we have seen other people get sent off for that kind of movement towards someone’s head.” Bothroyd agreed with Haaland’s assessment that had Haaland gone down holding his face, Gabriel likely would have been dismissed and faced a possible three-match ban.
Haaland’s winner leaves City three points behind the league leaders with a game in hand; a victory against Burnley would see them return to the top of the table. Reflecting on Arsenal’s recent record, Haaland said he wasn’t sure whether City were in their opponents’ heads and preferred to focus on his own team. “The last four seasons they have come up short. For now, they are still first. They’ve still been the best team this season,” he said. “I don’t want to speak too much about them. We should just focus on ourselves. In three days, it’s a new game. Go recover, eat well, relax and focus on the next one.”