Arsenal, beware: Erling Haaland is out for vengeance after last season's Emirates embarrassment - and that Myles Lewis-Skelly celebration

Haaland will not need reminding of what happened on his last visit to the Emirates Stadium. City were thrashed 5-1 by Arsenal, suffering their worst away defeat in almost eight years. Haaland was far from the worst performer in a City shirt and he had scored their equaliser before a second-half onslaught from the Gunners. 

And yet his name was associated with the thrashing more than any other City player as Arsenal fans had mockingly chanted "Stay humble" at him in reference to him saying the same thing to Mikel Arteta after City's last-gasp equaliser in the previous fixture between the two sides. 

To make matters worse, 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly had mockingly imitated his 'lotus' pose after scoring Arsenal's third goal, payback for Haaland asking 'Who the f*** are you' amid the ill-tempered scenes at the Etihad. 

He may not come up against Lewis-Skelly as the left-back is yet to start a game this season after being usurped at left-back by Riccardo Calafiori, but the image of the upstart teenager mocking the world's best striker, which went around the world, will be fresh on everyone's mind on Sunday.

"They won the game 5-1, so yeah, they got me," he said to Time of that day. The mocking he received from the fans and his younger opponent, however, did not make him regret uttering 'stay humble' in the first place. He insisted: "I think it’s an important phrase, which a lot of people should use, including myself. It’s one of the most important things, as individuals, to do." 

And in keeping with that stance, he had no issue with Lewis-Skelly mocking him as Neymar and PSG had done in 2020, his first season in the limelight. "If he wanted to use that moment to mock me, that’s fair enough for him. Whatever he wants to do, he can do."

Another interesting insight from Haaland in the Time interview was when he explained how he got so good at scoring. "I remember when I scored one goal, it was such a good feeling in me that I was like, ‘I want to become an expert on this'. Get this feeling again and again." 

Haaland quickly honed his expertise. At the U20 World Cup in 2019, before most fans knew who he was, he scored nine goals in one game against Honduras. Yes, nine. And he was disappointed that it was not 10. He has barely slowed down since then, netting eight times in his first six Champions League games with RB Salzburg. He left the Austrian side in January 2020 with 29 goals in 27 matches. 

He has continued to find the net with remarkable regularity. He plundered 86 goals in 89 games for Borussia Dortmund and although his strike rate has slowed down ever so slightly for City, the numbers are still frightening. His header against Napoli took him on to 130 goals in 151 games. He has 90 goals in 101 Premier League games while he is averaging more than a goal per game in the Champions League.

And yet he claims there is no real method to his goalscoring madness. "For me the most important thing is to be free in the mind and not think too much," he told Sky Sports last week. "I cannot think of scoring goals, it's not how it works. I don't visualise, I don't think that's good. People ask me about celebrations and all of that, I don't plan anything because you shouldn't plan anything. You should try and be free in your mind and try and be ready if you get a chance."

One thing Haaland does try and do is think about how to get chances, which means getting in the mind of his team-mates. "The most important thing is to get a chance as a striker. If you're not coming to chances that's a problem," he said. "For me the most important thing for me is to get the chances. When I come to chances there's a big chance I will score goals." 

"It’s about trying to understand which player is on the ball and try to be clear in your mind. When it's [Kevin] De Bruyne I just need to think where he's gonna shoot in and I have try to be there so he can hit me. If Bernardo is on the ball I have to think like him, if it's someone else I think like them."

De Bruyne was Haaland’s biggest supplier of goals but he does not appear to have been affected by his departure, at least not yet. Still, it is important that there is consistency in a City squad that was overhauled in the summer. The new-found form of Jeremy Doku will help Haaland, as will Foden’s return to full fitness. 

Haaland emphasised the importance of Foden's strong start to the season after beating United, saying of the 2023-24 PFA Player of the year. "We have to keep this guy going because we need him so much. This is the Phil we need, all of Man City are waiting for this. We’re going to help him as much as we can to make him as good as he was the season before last."

The feeling between Foden and Haaland is mutual. After setting the striker up against Napoli with a deft chip, the midfielder gushed: "He seems to break every record going. It's unheard of what he's doing. What an unbelievable player."

Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, seemed to have run out of things to say about him. "What can I say? The numbers speak for themselves. We are lucky to have him. Just to congratulate him, because he's alongside goalscorers like [Ruud] van Nistelrooy, [Robert] Lewandowski, but especially the two monsters Cristiano [Ronaldo] and [Lionel] Messi for 20 years, for Erling to be there is unbelievable."

The coach also backed his striker to become the biggest monster of all and overhaul Cristiano Ronaldo as the Champions League's all-time top scorer on 141. "In that rhythm, yeah [he can break the record]. He’s not injured, he could play for 10 or 12 more years, and if he maintains this progression, absolutely."

More Champions League milestones will have to wait but next on Haaland’s mind is the re-match with Arsenal and a chance to set the record straight. And on current form, the Gunners should be very afraid of the Viking invader.