Erling Haaland is the world’s greatest striker, according to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who also defended the Norwegian’s play in the wake of criticism from former Manchester United captain Roy Keane.
The 23-year-old’s overall play was well below Premier League standards, according to Keane, despite Haaland’s 36 goals in the Premier League last season. On Sunday, City and Arsenal drew 0-0.
“He’s got such awful general play, and not just today. “I believe he needs to work on that; after Sunday’s game, he plays almost like a League Two player,” Keane stated on Sky Sports.
Guardiola expressed his disagreement with Keane’s comments regarding Haaland, who leads the league with 18 goals.
“He (Haaland) is the best striker in the world and helped us to win (the treble) last season, and the reason why we don’t create many chances is not because of Erling,” he stated to reporters on Tuesday.
“Our performance against Arsenal was outstanding. I watched it again; perhaps we just overlooked a few more folks in the last third. Haaland is outstanding given the caliber and variety of our abilities.”
Later on Wednesday, City, who are now in third place and three points behind leaders Liverpool, take on Aston Villa.