‘Going to be crazy’ - Erling Haaland gives Arsenal title verdict as Man City close gap

Erling Haaland has said Manchester City can’t focus on Arsenal as it will make them ‘crazy’ in the final weeks of the Premier League season.

The striker made a scoring return on Sunday as he netted in the second half of City’s 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest to cut the gap to leaders Arsenal. The victory leaves the champions second and one point off the summit, however they crucially have a game in hand.

Arsenal had won a dramatic North London derby 3-2 earlier in the afternoon, putting the pressure on City ahead of the Forest encounter. But Haaland insisted that he and his team-mates are not paying attention to the exploits of Mikel Arteta’s side.

"I think the most important thing is to not think, especially in these moments, taking it day by day,” he told Sky Sports. “Honestly, if you over-think you are going to be crazy in your head so relax and enjoy.”

City were far from their best in the East Midlands on Sunday, but Haaland’s goal in the final 20 minutes killed the game off. Forest had missed three clear-cut chances in a 15-minute period either side of half-time and, despite the backing from the hostile crowd, couldn’t manage to find the back of the net when it mattered.

"First of all an important win, that was the most important. It doesn't matter how we do it, it's about winning,” said Haaland, who moved onto 21 Premier League goals for the season.

"We knew where they were in the table so we knew it was going to be a fight with a pitch that isn’t the easiest to play on but we can't complain about these things. It's about winning the football game and that's exactly what we did so three points, get in the shower and think on the next one.”