After mocking Arsenal’s trophy dearth, Alan Smith has sternly reprimanded Erling Haaland’s father to “stop vicariously experiencing life through his son.”
What happened? Sunday’s match against Arsenal will be difficult for Haaland because some players and the home crowd will make fun of the prolific forward. After Martin Odegaard scored an early goal, Gabriel Magalhaes made fun of Haaland.
Myles Lewis-Skelly then made fun of the striker throughout the game by imitating Haaland’s famous zen celebration. Kendrick Lamar’s song “Humble,” which was a direct reference to Haaland’s earlier advice to Mikel Arteta to “remain humble” after the sides’ 2-2 draw in September, was played by Arsenal’s stadium DJ to round off the evening.
THE GENERAL CONTEXT After the game, Arsenal’s official X account (formerly Twitter) joined in the joke by posting a happy picture of Nwaneri’s stance along with the caption, “This Team.” Fans quickly took notice of the statement, which celebrated the team’s victory. Alfie Haaland, who played for City from 2000 to 2003, made the following caustic comment:
“This is the winning team.” Yes, no. His comment was a scathing indictment of Arsenal’s recent struggles as they continue their long-running pursuit of a Premier League championship after winning the trophy for the first time in 2004.
