Erling Haaland’s act of throwing the ball at the back of Gabriel’s head after Manchester City’s late equaliser against Arsenal was a “coward’s move”, former Gunners striker Ian Wright has said.
City striker Haaland collected the ball from the net after John Stones’ goal and threw it at the back of the Arsenal defender, who was looking the other way and had put his shirt over his head in frustration.
The Video Assistant Referee reviewed the incident but chose not to intervene because it was not deemed a red card offence, while the Football Association will not take further action over any of the incidents during the 2-2 draw at Etihad Stadium.
In a video on Instagram, Wright said: “The one thing that boiled me up properly was Haaland’s coward’s move.
“Throwing the ball at Gabi’s head when he’s not looking. When Gabi’s back’s turned to him. Real coward’s move. Gabi would look him in the eye, you know.
“That’s what bothered me more than anything else. I thought you [Haaland] were bigger than that.”