Gabriel brutally laughs in Erling Haaland's face after Martin Odegaard's stunning early goal vs Man City as Arsenal defender reignites rivalry with Norwegian striker

A bizarre mix-up in the City defence led to Odegaard putting Arsenal in front against City with a close-range finish inside two minutes at Emirates Stadium. Arsenal celebrated wildly, and Gabriel also made time to troll Haaland, running up to the Norwegian striker and brutally laughing right in his face before joining the rest of his team-mates.

Sky Sports

Gabriel's actions reignited the rivalry between him and Haaland after their heated battle in this season's reverse fixture between the two teams at Etihad Stadium back in September. Haaland was seen throwing the ball at Gabriel's head after John Stones' earned City a last-gasp 2-2 draw, and the Norway international also went viral for telling Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta to "stay humble" as tensions threatened to boil over before the two teams left the pitch.

Gabriel wasn't able to revel in Haaland's misery for long on Sunday, as he was powerless to stop the City striker heading in an equaliser 10 minutes into the second half. Arsenal hit back instantly to make it 2-1, though, with Thomas Partey's deflected strike from distance completely deceiving City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega on its way into the corner of the net. Teenage full-back Myles Lewis-Skelly then scored a brilliant goal in the 62nd minute as the Gunners took a 3-1 lead to leave City with a mountain to climb. Kai Havertz would go on to score Arsenal's fourth and effectively end the game as a contest before Ethan Nwaneri sealed an emphatic 5-1 victory for Mikel Arteta's team.

City will turn their attention to the FA Cup next weekend, with a fourth-round tie against Leyton-Orient on the cards, while Arsenal will take on Newcastle in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie on Wednesday night, looking to overturn a 2-0 aggregate deficit.