Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has said he “does not regret much in life” after throwing the ball at Arsenal defender Gabriel’s head during their Premier League encounter last month.
The two sides played out an ill-tempered 2-2 draw in Manchester on September 23, where a 98th-minute equaliser from John Stones salvaged a draw for the home side.
While celebrating Stones’s late goal, 24-year-old Haaland picked up the ball and threw it at the back of Gabriel’s head, and was later seen telling Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to “stay humble” after the final whistle.
Speaking before Norway’s Nations League fixture against Slovenia on Thursday, Haaland said: “It was in the heat of the match and a bit of everything happened in that match.
“What happens on the football pitch, happens on the football pitch. That’s the way it is. I don’t regret much in life.”
When asked about the confrontation with Haaland on September 22, Arteta said: “It’s part of football, part of sport. After the game, all that goes away and we move on. That’s it.”
Gabriel was also asked about the encounter with the Norweigan striker, saying: “It’s a battle, a war, so it’s normal to have provocative acts in football. It’s part of the game. Now this is over and we are waiting for them at our ground.”
Arsenal face Manchester City at Emirates Stadium on February 1.
After the game against Slovenia, Norway will face Austria on October 13.
Norway are without national team captain and Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard who has been out of action since sustaining an ankle ligament injury during international duty in September.
(Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
