Arsenal have been sent a serious warning by Manchester City star Erling Haaland amidst their Premier League title fight. The Norwegian striker wasted little time in picking up where he left off before the World Cup, scoring twice to help City beat Leeds 3-1 at Elland Road on Wednesday.
The Gunners extended their lead at the top of the table with a 3-1 win of their own against West Ham at the Emirates Stadium on Boxing Day before City closed the gap back down to five points. Mikel Arteta will be without his star striker Gabriel Jesus until February after the Brazilian suffered a knee injury whilst away in Qatar with Brazil.
Eddie Nketiah proved he can be a capable replacement in the £45million summer signing's absence as he scored the third goal for Arsenal against the Hammers. The Gunners are set to face City for the first time this season when the two teams play each other in February after their fixture earlier this season was postponed.
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City's win against Leeds proved to be yet another game that saw Haaland score multiple goals, with the forward having now netted 20 goals already so far this season. If that wasn't scary enough, the Norwegian hitman had a pointed message to Arsenal, with the two sides clashing in their rearranged fixture in just a few weeks' time.
Haaland told Amazon Prime: "We see Arsenal at the top... we have to hunt them. I said inside [the dressing room that] I could have scored five.
"But we win, that's the most important thing. I could have scored more but that's life."
It shows the demand for the Gunners in attempting to win the title this season, having to compete at the top level almost every single week of the campaign. Haaland's teammate, Riyad Mahrez, has backed up the Norwegian's warning by admitting that Pep Guardiola's side are not just focusing on Arsenal in the title race.
"We have to hit the ground running. We are not currently top of the Premier League and that is where we want to be,” the Algerian told City's website. “We will take it game by game but our aim to try to win another title.
"There are lots of strong teams in England who could still win the league. We are not just focused on Arsenal, although they have been very good so far."
Arteta will hope that his team can continue their winning start to the second half of the season with another three points against Brighton on Saturday, December 31. City will host a struggling Everton side as they aim to keep pace with the league leaders.
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