Manchester City striker Erling Haaland don come out talk say him and him team no dey feel any pressure ahead of their Premier League title clash with Arsenal this Sunday. The Norwegian forward yarn with Sky Sports from the Etihad Campus training ground, say City get “nothing to lose” after dem don dey chase Arsenal for top of table all season.
Haaland, wey don score only one goal for him last five league matches, talk say him dey calm. “Right now, I’m quite calm,” Haaland talk. “It’s one game a week, which is really unusual for us. Honestly, I don’t feel a lot of nerves or anything, because we’ve been chasing all season and we’ve got nothing to lose, so I don’t have any pressure.”
The big striker no wan talk about whether Arsenal dey feel pressure. “You’d have to ask [Arsenal] if they feel the pressure. I cannot talk about them. I can talk about myself, mostly. With myself, I don’t feel loads of pressure, because we’re still far behind.” City need to win all their remaining seven games to almost certainly collect the Premier League trophy back from Liverpool.
For Arsenal side, dem don dey prepare well for the trip to Manchester. The Gunners train at Sobha Realty Training Centre after dem qualify for Champions League semi-finals. Club photographer Stuart MacFarlane snap 26 pictures of the training session, show players dey put in hard work ahead of the big match.
Haaland go face tough battle against Arsenal defensive partnership of Gabriel and William Saliba. The striker no score when both teams draw 1-1 at Emirates Stadium earlier this season. Though Haaland get five goals in 10 appearances against Arsenal since he join City, him know say this one go hard. “It’s always a fight. They normally have loads of players around me, which is a good thing for me. It’s not easy to play against many players around me, but it’s always a nice fight.”
City come into the game with confidence after dem beat Chelsea 3-0 at Stamford Bridge last weekend. That victory follow Arsenal’s surprise home loss to Bournemouth 24 hours earlier. Haaland talk say every remaining game dey like cup final now. “It’s like a final, like last weekend was against Chelsea, it was a final as well. Let’s be honest and say that, and we have a final every single weekend now for the next six weeks.”
The striker also talk about him relationship with young defender Abdukodir Khusanov. After the Chelsea game, Haaland push the 22-year-old Uzbekistan international to the front of City celebrations. “I think of the moment with Khusanov, because Khusanov has been amazing for us. It’s not been easy for him, moving to a new country, not speaking the language, it’s hard and everything.”
Haaland, wey be 25 years old, talk say him dey take more leadership role for the team because of him experience. “I speak like I’m 35, I’m not, I’m 25. I have a lot of experience, I’ve been playing lots of football, so I know how it is in lots of different situations. It’s about helping others, because I know how they’ve been and things can be a bit hard sometimes.”
The Sunday match go be crucial for both teams as Premier League title race dey heat up. City need to win to close the six-point gap with Arsenal, while the Gunners want to maintain their lead at the top of the table.
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