Gabriel Magalhaes wasted little time reigniting his feud with Erling Haaland after Arsenal took the lead over Manchester City at the Emirates. Martin Odegaard opened the scoring on Sunday afternoon after the Gunners capitalised on a wayward pass from Manuel Akanji after just two minutes. The defender was dispossessed by Leandro Trossard, before Declan Rice played in Kai Havertz, who squared the ball for Odegaard.

Celebrations were jubilant from the north London side but Arsenal defender Gabriel took the opportunity to rile the opposition too. The Brazilian shouted in his Haaland's direction following the goal as he ran past his opponeent. Gabriel turned to ensure the Norway international saw his celebrations before speeding off to join his team-mates. The incident follows the pair clashing during the teams' tempestuous meeting earlier in the season. On that occasion Haaland threw a ball at Gabriel's head following goal celebrations as City scored an equaliser in stoppage time to claim a point.

At full-time Haaland told Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to "stay humble" after the game had descended into conflict. Going into the clash at the Emirates, Guardiola defended his star's actions and temperament. "For Erling it's not easy," he said. "Arsenal is a physical team, in a good way, in many aspects. "For 90 minutes, the central defender, Gabriel, push him, hack him, hug him and kiss him. The Premier League is that way.

"You have to stand up and defend your position. And now I am being asked to adjudicate on what Erling has done? I don't buy it. The end of the game was so emotional. In the end, a human being has to react.". "I'm surprised how he controls his emotions" Guardiola added. "In every action, he's being pulled and the referee plays on. How many times does it happen? And he never complains. He behaves incredibly well.".

Speaking ahead of the game, goalscorer Odegaard admitted he did not mind the additional tension in the match. Haaland's international team-mate missed the meeting in September but is embracing the rivalry. "We've been fighting against each other for the title so [the rivalry escalating] is a natural thing," he said. "That's how it should be and there should be a little bit of heat sometimes. "And that is something everyone will have in mind going into the game - supporters and players - and maybe it brings that extra tension.".

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