Merson criticizes Haaland: “He needs the ball on a silver platter, he wouldn’t score 60 goals in League Two …”

How does Erling Braut Haaland stop? Many have tried, so far almost no one has succeeded. Yet not everyone is convinced that the center forward is a star of the first magnitude. And among them is the former Arsenal star …

How does Erling Braut Haaland stop? Many have tried, so far practically no one has succeeded. Since he showed off with the RB Salzburg shirt, the Norwegian has scored repeatedly in every competition. And even if we want to exclude the Champions League from the calculation, in which he has numbers that make Messi, Ronaldo, Lewandowski and company pale, it would be enough to dedicate himself to national tournaments. Clusters of goals, first in the Austrian league, then in the Bundesliga once Borussia Dortmund won it and now in the Premier League, at the court of Pep Guardiola with the Manchester City shirt. Yet not everyone is convinced that the center forward is a star of the first magnitude.

The Premier and League Two

And among them is former Arsenal star Paul Merson. The former Gunners playmaker, speaking to SkySports, explained that the talents are certainly there, but that Haaland, compared to other players, has a problem: he is too dependent on his teammates, in the sense that he does not create opportunities himself, but has the innate ability to be at the point right at the right time. “He needs whoever passes the ball to him. Everyone says how strong he is, how incredible he is, how powerful he is, how perfect his movements are, but if they don’t put the ball on a silver platter, you can make the moves as good as you want, but you won’t get the ball. I coached Walsall and I can tell you, in League Two he would never score 60 goals! “.

City want the Champions

But Haaland aside, Merson also explains why Arsenal and other Premier League teams could have a major advantage over City. Guardiola’s team obviously plays to win everything, but if they were faced with a choice, they would certainly aim to try to win in Europe rather than at home … “Manchester City wants to win the Champions League and if on Saturday afternoon at three they have to play against Brighton or who knows who else and then in the middle of the week they have a Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or PSG, obviously what they will think about will be Europe. The Premier League has won four times in the last five seasons! “. And they could make five, with a Haaland like that. After all, you don’t play in League Two …

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