Erling Haaland: I do not regret throwing ball at Gabriel’s head

Erling Haaland has insisted he has no regrets over his actions in Manchester City’s powder-keg clash with Arsenal when he threw a ball at Gabriel Magalhaes’s head.

Haaland bounced the ball off Gabriel after John Stones’s last-gasp equaliser last month at the Etihad Stadium, which was just one of the flash points in a hot-tempered 2-2 draw between the two Premier League title rivals.

Gabriel reacted by declaring it was a “war” between the two clubs and said: “Now we are waiting for them at our ground.”

Haaland, who captains Norway against Slovenia and Austria this week in the absence of Martin Odegaard, also clashed with Mikel Arteta after the final whistle.

“I don’t regret much in life,” said Haaland. “In the heat of the moment things happened in that game. What happens on the pitch, stays on the pitch. That’s how it is.”

Haaland has also supported his City team-mate Rodri who suggested players could go on strike to protest against the congested fixture schedule. The 24-year-old says there is too much football and he has benefited from a free summer as Norway did not qualify for Euro 2024.

“I have much more energy both on and off the pitch. My head is more rested,” Haaland said. “It’s more important than people think to have a break from your job, no matter what you do, especially if there’s a big physical strain. It will be exciting to see how long a break I will get next summer.

“It’s starting to become an awful lot of matches, I think it has been for some years. The Premier League started with a winter break four years ago, we won’t see any more of that. There have been too many matches for several years, not just after the new Champions League format. It’s nothing new, but it’s becoming a lot.”

Haaland is one goal behind the Norway record of 33 set by Jorgen Juve, and insists he has not thought about how long he will continue playing for his country.

“It will be nice to beat it one day,” he said. “I haven’t thought about that [international retirement] yet. Some of you have tried to paint a picture that I don’t want to play for the national team, but you can bury that now.

“You can see how much I like to play for the national team. I really enjoy it.”

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