Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has suggested Manchester City striker Erling Haaland can't be compared to anyone else in his position ahead of the Premier League clash on Wednesday night.
Haaland has been in scintillating form for the Blues since arriving from Borussia Dortmund last summer, with the Norwegian ace registering 48 goals and six assists in 42 appearances in all competitions. The 22-year-old was on target against the Gunners earlier in the campaign, scoring in City's 3-1 league victory.
City currently sit five points behind the Gunners in the top-flight table, however, the Blues have two games in hand over the London outfit. Pep Guardiola's side have won their last six matches in the Premier League, while Arsenal have drawn three league matches in succession.
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The Blues welcome Arsenal to the Etihad knowing a victory would give them the advantage in the title race, and Gunners boss Arteta was full of praise for Haaland ahead of the crunch match.
"When you look at the numbers there’s no comparison with anyone else," he said during his pre-match press conference. "He’s able to produce that because the setup is done in the right way for him, the players that they’ve got around him, the way he’s coached, the qualities that he has.
"There are a lot of things that have to be in the right way. With him they have the capacity to play in different ways, when you play really far from your goal they have the capacity to exploit open spaces and when they’re attacking low blocks they have a different threat because they are a very physical team right now."
Arteta also admitted he was leaning on the experience of former City duo Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko. The former made 236 appearances for the Blues during his time at the Etihad, while the latter featured on 128 occasions.
Discussing the importance of the now-Arsenal pair, Arteta said: "The experience is key when you've been in those moments, how to handle those moments, to understand the importance of certain things and the capacity to transmit to the rest of the team are all very important.
"Some of them are young but they have played a lot of football games already."
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