Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland has broken his silence on the unexpected and simmering rivalry with Arsenal’s teenage defender, Myles Lewis-Skelly, which has been playing out both on and off the pitch.
The back-and-forth began last September, following a spiky 2-2 draw, when Haaland was caught on camera telling Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to “stay humble” and questioned who Lewis-Skelly was during the teenager’s Premier League debut.
Four months later, by which time Lewis-Skelly had established himself as a first-team regular, he scored in Arsenal’s huge 5-1 victory over City. In a memorable moment of revenge, he celebrated by mimicking Haaland’s famous zen celebration and later captioned an image on social media with, “Keep it humble.”
When questioned about his comments by Time magazine, Haaland stood by his guns. “I think it’s an important phrase… one of the most important things, as individuals, to do,” he smiled.
Notably, Haaland remained completely unfazed by Lewis-Skelly’s imitation. “If he wanted to use that moment to mock me, that’s fair enough for him,” he shrugged. “Whatever he wants to do, he can do.”
He then humbly admitted defeat on that particular day, adding, “They won the game 5-1. So yeah, they got me.”
This unlikely war of words has added an extra layer of spice to the rivalry between the two Premier League title contenders. Fans won’t have to wait long for the next chapter, with Arsenal set to host Manchester City in a marquee fixture on September 21.