Micah Richards has claimed that one of the Manchester City players looked “frustrated” during his side’s 0-0 draw against Arsenal.
That comes as no surprise considering how difficult the visitors made it for City to break them down on Sunday.
Pep Guardiola’s men bossed proceedings but they struggled to bypass Arsenal’s deep block, which would have infuriated them.
Sometimes, opposition defences simply do not give teams a sniff and Mikel Arteta’s side managed to do that with a defensive display that one often sees from Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid team.
Micah Richards says Erling Haaland seemed “frustrated” as Manchester City drew to Arsenal
After the contest, even Manuel Akanji admitted that he was “gutted” to see the Sky Blues take home only a single point, considering they were “dominant” against the Gunners.
In the build-up to the clash, it seemed like the world was ready to witness an electric game, akin to the battles between City and Liverpool during Guardiola and Klopp’s spells.
However, neither team offered the attacking threat to produce a spectacle like the games between the two aforementioned sides.
Micah Richards felt while watching Manchester City and Arsenal go head-to-head that a certain Erling Haaland looked frustrated while speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast.
“I feel at times, [Erling] Haaland makes a lot of great runs, you’ve got players behind you who can find a pass but he seemed a little bit frustrated and what I saw on Man City’s goal kicks, Arsenal were going man-to-man, pushing really high and then you’re thinking [Stefan] Ortega, who had a really good game playing up to Haaland and Haaland didn’t get hold of the ball for someone of his size.”
After the game between Manchester City and Arsenal, Micah Richards also pointed out how he felt Erling Haaland did not offer much in terms of his link-up play.
Erling Haaland was understandably frustrated
If Micah Richards’ observation is indeed correct and Manchester City striker Erling Haaland was frustrated against Arsenal, in our view, he had every right to feel the way he did.
Considering Haaland seems to be tasked to play a waiting time up top and sniff out chances, the fact that City created none for him would have left him feeling puzzled.
The Norwegian must also have been left baffled by his team’s passive approach in possession, as they looked too fearful to lose the game and as a result, kept things far too safe on the ball.
Any striker would be upset if they were in Haaland’s boots.