His side had just lost 5-1 away at Arsenal but Manchester City striker Erling Haaland had a cheeky smile on his face as he walked off the pitch at the Emirates Stadium.
Haaland had been targeted all afternoon, with Gunners fans and players seemingly still reeling from the ‘stay humble’ jibe he had aimed at Mikel Arteta following September’s 2-2 draw at the Etihad.
The Norwegian was booed and jeered before Sunday’s game. Arsenal defender Gabriel then laughed in Haaland’s face while celebrating Martin Odegaard‘s early opener. This was revenge after Haaland threw a ball at Gabriel’s head in the aftermath of John Stones‘ dramatic late equaliser earlier in the season.
Haaland briefly drew City level on Sunday when he headed home to score his 25th goal of the campaign. But Arsenal hit back emphatically with strikes from Thomas Partey, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Kai Havertz and Ethan Nwaneri.
At full-time, Arsenal attempted to troll Haaland using their stadium sound system by playing rapper Kendrick Lamar’s 2017 track HUMBLE.
Haaland responded by smiling towards the crowd and pointing to the golden badges on his City shirt – the ones reserved for the reigning winners of the Premier League and the FIFA Club World Cup. He had also earlier pointed at his golden Premier League badge during a brief conversation with Gabriel.
Erling Haaland pictured smiling while pointing at his gold Premier League badge on Sunday
Haaland also showed off his badge to Arsenal defender Gabriel during Man City’s 5-1 defeat
Arsenal have never won the Club World Cup and have not won the Premier League since 2004, having finished second behind City in each of the past two seasons.
With the focus firmly on him after the final whistle on Sunday, Haaland also briefly pointed at his head – his message to the Gunners fans seemingly being that he had gotten into their heads and that they had perhaps become a little obsessed with him.
There was no doubt that Haaland had been on the minds of some Arsenal players and supporters going into Sunday’s game.
Lewis-Skelly cheekily imitated Haaland’s famous meditation celebration after scoring Arsenal’s fourth goal, while multiple signs in the crowd made reference to staying ‘humble’.
Arsenal ended the weekend nine points above City in the Premier League.
However, Arteta’s side remain six points behind leaders Liverpool, who have played one game fewer.
Sunday’s result was City’s 11th defeat in all competitions this season and it left them fourth in the league table – six points behind Nottingham Forest.
Speaking to Sky Sports, City defender Stones admitted that he was feeling ‘angry’.
An Arsenal fan pictured holding up a homemade sign featuring the words: ‘Stay humble eh’
Stones reflected: ‘It is hard to put into words straight after a game like that. Pride hurts. Sorry to the fans that have traveled to come and watch that.
‘How we played in the last 30 minutes was not acceptable. Personally and collectively, it’s not us.
‘It is not nice to be involved in that when you know it’s not your team in those situations. Credit to Arsenal, this is not an easy place to come to. For 65 minutes, we played some great football at times.
‘We were in the game and it was a swinging point. It swung the wrong way for us. I am angry, upset personally and collectively about how the game finished.’
