A potted history of Gabriel and Erling Haaland’s beef ahead of World Cup clash
Ahead of the latest round at the World Cup, we are recounting every time Gabriel and Erling Haaland have had beef.
The pair will be meeting face to face once again as Brazil take on Norway but it is usually in the club colours that these two have not got on with each other.
Here’s every flash point of the Gabriel v Haaland rivalry.
The rivalry begins (March 2024)
The first point of note came in 2024 when Arsenal drew 0-0 away at the Etihad. All game, Gabriel had been using every trick in a central defender’s book to fairly roughhouse his opponent and Haaland, to his credit, was up to the challenge.
As the final whistle blew, the pair began to shove each other before Pep Guardiola stepped in to separate them and the rivalry was properly born.
“Stay humble, eh?” (September 2024)
Later that same year, we had arguably the most iconic moment of this rivalry.
Arsenal were heading to a 2-1 win away at their title rivals when City grabbed a last-minute equaliser.
To celebrate, Haaland grabbed the ball and launched it at the back of Gabriel’s head.
The tempers flared even more when, following kick-off, Haaland went to close down the ball and steamrolled through Thomas Partey, who was attempting to block him.
Then in the aftermath, Haaland infuriated all Arsenal fans as he was caught on camera telling Mikel Arteta to “stay humble eh?”.
That became a stick with which to beat Arsenal with and no doubt it got to the dressing room too.
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Gabriel gets his revenge (February 2025)
It was 1-0 Haaland after the stay humble but Gabriel emphatically got his own back later that season.
Capitalising on a catastrophic loss of form by City, Arsenal hammered them 5-1 at the Emirates.
As Arsenal got the opener, Gabriel celebrated by screaming in Haaland’s face. The Norwegian though equalised at the other end but declined to share the favour.
Gabriel said: “He was dominating, I was always celebrating in his face. Five minutes in, one-nil. When we scored, he was right next to me, and I started yelling in his ear. He scored, the son of a b***h, with a header, 1-1. The ball went out of play, we were 2-1. We turned it around, 3-1, 4-1, 5-1,”
Then, Myles Lewis-Skelly, who had had a run-in with Haaland during the previous meeting, set the tone by mockingly recreating Haaland’s celebration.
Gabriel escapes red (April 2026)
Ahead of the meeting tonight, the pair’s most recent clash came in the title run of last season.
City were looking to chase down leaders Arsenal and cut the gap via a 2-1 win at the Etihad.
During the game, Gabriel headbutted Haaland but as the City striker declined to go down, VAR somehow did not deem it to be a red card. Haaland though insisted going down easy was not for him.
“I think it’s a red card,” he said post-match. “I think most agree with me. If I go down like any other guy, it’s a red card. It’s not something I would do. My father taught me to stay on your feet.
“That’s the reality. Should I have gone down? Maybe. Then it would’ve been easier. But I didn’t.”
It was a non-decision that had a big impact for Arsenal, who would have been without their key defender for three games.
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