"It may mess up the equilibrium” – Arsenal legend makes bold claim on Erling Haaland joining Gunners
Arsenal legend Ian Wright has said that adding Erling Haaland may not necessarily improve his former team's frontline.
Haaland has been in incredible form in recent weeks, scoring five times in his last three Premier League appearances. The Norwegian's exploits have come at a time when the Gunners have drawn successive league games, raising questions about their need for a pure goalscorer.
Wright, though, has played down assertions that the City striker would improve Arsena, telling The Athletic (as quoted by Metro):
‘‘Progress the ball from the back… Thomas Partey… Odegaard… Saka… (Leandro) Trossard… (Gabriel) Martinelli… (Gabriel) Jesus… so many different ways to hurt a team.
‘‘As much as I was really pleased to be somebody that was at the time the main goalscorer, and you do want somebody who’s scoring between 15 and 25 league goals a season, I believe that when you are able to spread the goals around, people can’t plan for it.’’
Wright, a prolific goalscorer who netted 156 times in 264 matches during his time with Arsenal, added:
‘‘Of course, you look at Erling Haaland. Magnificent. Amazing what he’s doing and good luck to him. But would I change what we’re doing for somebody who’s scoring goals like that? I don’t know. It may mess up the equilibrium of what’s going on. I’m not sure.’’
Haaland's goals in recent weeks, combined with the Gunners dropping points, have helped Manchester City close down the gap at atop the standings. They're now just four adrift of the leaders and have a game in hand.
Erling Haaland has as many goals as Arsenal's top four scorers combined this season
Erling Haaland's goalscoring in his debut campaign in England has been nothing short of spectacular. Incredibly, the Manchester City man has scored as many goals across competitions this term as Arsenal's top four scorers combined.
Haaland's record stands at 47 goals from 40 games across competitions this term. For the Gunners, Gabriel Martinelli leads the charts with 14 goals from 41 games, while Bukayo Saka is second with 13 from 41 appearances.
They're followed by Martin Odegaard, who has struck 11 times in 38 games, while Gabriel Jesus is fourth with nine goals in 26 games. That comes up to 47 goals in 146 combined appearances for the quartet.
The numbers just put into context how good Haaland has been in front of goal this term. With City still alive in three competitions, he could end up with around 60 goals come the end of the campaign.