Erling Haaland is a man of few words and he needed just two to sum up Manchester City ’s reaction to Arsenal dropping more points.
The Gunners battled back from 2-0 and then 3-1 down to earn a dramatic draw with Southampton in a six-goal thriller at the Emirates. But despite snatching a point from the jaws of defeat, in the cold light of day it was another missed chance.
Arsenal have now dropped six points in their last three matches, affording all the momentum in the title race to the reigning Premier League champions. Before Friday night’s clash, Mikel Arteta’s side had conspired to throw a pair of two-goal leads away, first at Liverpool and then away at West Ham.
That all means that City have their fate in their own hands, trailing by five points with two games in hand. They also host the Gunners next week in a game which will go a huge way to deciding whether the trophy remains in Manchester or heads to the capital.
Haaland offered a somewhat cryptic response to the scenes in North London, posting a picture of him smiling along with the caption: “MOOD. STILL.”
That copied another conveniently timed social media post last week, when he simply tweeted the word “mood” following Arsenal’s draw with West Ham.
Pep Guardiola’s charges now turn their attention to the FA Cup semi final with Sheffield United, before a do-or-die clash with their closest rivals in the league.
Meanwhile, Arsenal legend Ian Wright has called for some perspective following the disappointment against the Saints and urged supporters to continue backing the team.
“Obviously disappointing, but say whatever you want, until it’s mathematically over, I have to believe and support the boys. Hope!!! Still got hope,” Wright said in a video he uploaded to Twitter.
“Boys are obviously going through it right now, the pressure, dropped points, individual errors, conceding too many goals – it’s all happening.
“But our young team is still top of the league. Look how far we’ve come. Not over until it’s over. And I’m not trying to be some positive guru -I can’t help that I feel I really want them to do it. So I’m going to back them and be with them no matter what. Up the Gunners.”
Asked if Arsenal were lacking confidence after a third game without a win, Arteta insisted his side showed enough in securing a point to show they are still up for the fight.
“I don’t see a lack of confidence,” he said. “When a team does that normally players start to hide. I played there and players start to hide in certain moments. I didn’t see a single player do that.
“They were all willing to take risks and initiative. That’s why we got back from 3-1 to 3-3 and should have won the game. The confidence is there. It’s just those moments. At this level you cannot give the goals away that we did. Simple as that.”
