"The ghost of big games", "Needs KDB to hold his hand" - Fans slam Erling Haaland for his poor showing in Manchester City's loss to Arsenal

Football fans have criticized Manchester City striker Erling Haaland for his display in his side's 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.

The Citizens visited the Emirates Stadium for a Premier League encounter on Sunday, October 8. In a game that saw both teams struggle to create chances, the Gunners edged the contest 1-0 thanks to half-time substitute Gabriel Martinelli's 86th-minute strike.

The Brazilian was set up by Kai Havertz and fired from the edge of the box, with his shot taking a big deflection of Nathan Ake to leave Ederson helpless. Arsenal didn't mind, though, as they recorded their first league victory over Manchester City since 2015 when Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud scored in a 2-1 home win.

After the game, fans on X (formerly Twitter) lashed out at Erling Haaland, who struggled to have any impact on the contest. The Norwegian took no shots on Sunday.

One fan wrote:

"The ghost of big games 👻"

Credit: @CFCJohnnyB on X

The tweet was seemingly to indicate that Haaland doesn't score in matches that hold significance. The forward notably couldn't find the back of the net in the semifinals or finals of the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League last season. He did, however, score in both league matches against the Gunners.

Another opined that Haaland is dependent on talismanic midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who missed the match due to a muscle injury:

"Needs KDB to hold his hand"

Credits: @PatrickMuwenge on X

Here are some more reactions from fans:

Credit: @LunihanV1 on X

Credit: @wakashhhh on X

Credit: @98kxe on X

Credit: @splufic_dice on X

Credit: @AFCtariq on X

Credit: @bade_UTD on X

Credit: @EliLeezayy on X

Credit: @Blue_Footy on X

Erling Haaland had just 23 touches despite playing all 90 minutes on Saturday and completed 11 of his 16 passes (69% accuracy). He did lay out two key passes and complete a dribble, but won just three of his seven duels and lost possession eight times.

Overall, he has scored eight times in 11 appearances across competitions this term.

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Erling Haaland and Manchester City struggle against disciplined Arsenal rearguard

Manchester City recorded their lowest shot tally in a Premier League match under Pep Guardiola on Saturday. Against Arsenal, Erling Haaland and Co. recorded just four shots, of which only one was on target.

The reigning champions struggled to break down a disciplined home defence of Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko. The quartet combined to make four clearances, four interceptions and seven tackles, while winning 11 of their 16 total duels.

Ahead of them, Declan Rice put in one of his best displays since arriving at the Emirates on a £105 million transfer from West Ham United this summer. Rice completed 90% of his passes, while recording four successful duels, three tackles, three interceptions and two clearances. He also laid out two key passes.

The win lifted Arsenal to second in the Premier League standings, level on points with Tottenham Hotspur in first with 20 from their first eight matches. Manchester City, meanwhile, are two points behind in third after losing successive league matches for the first time since 2018.