Erling Haaland believes Gabriel should have been sent off for attempted headbutt in Man City's win over Arsenal
Erling Haaland believes Arsenal defender Gabriel would've been sent off had he had gone down when the two squared up during Sunday's game and the defender leaned in with his head; Gary Neville agrees Gabriel was lucky to avoid harsher punishment
Monday 20 April 2026 10:45, UK
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland says Arsenal defender Gabriel should have been sent off for his attempted headbutt in City's 2-1 win over the Gunners.
The pair renewed their rivalry on Sunday with Haaland outmuscling the Brazilian to score the winner, before things reached a boiling point as the two squared up to one another.
Gabriel leant his head into the striker, but escaped a sending off as both players were booked by referee Anthony Taylor.
Former official Mike Dean later suggested that the Arsenal man was fortunate not to have seen red, and Haaland believes his reaction saved his rival.
"I think it's a red card," he said post-match.
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"I think most agree with me. If I go down like any other guy, it's a red card. It's not something I would do. My father taught me to stay on your feet.
"That's the reality. Should I have gone down? Maybe. Then it would've been easier. But I didn't and I got a yellow card. I don't know why."
Neville: Gabriel's headbutt 'usually a red'
Speaking on commentary, Sky Sports' Gary Neville also suggested that Gabriel had been lucky to avoid stricter punishment.
"If Gabriel scores late on, City would be absolutely furious," Neville later said on The Gary Neville Podcast.
"I got done for this. I think it was actually Steve McManaman in the Manchester derby. You can put your head against each other. That's fine. You might get a yellow each. The minute you do that [push forward] it's usually a red.
"That was the surprise from Anthony Taylor, that he treated them both the same.
"I think he [Gabriel] actually puts his head down as well. Haaland does brilliantly well. He doesn't react. He could have put his hands to his face and I think Gabriel is straight off the pitch within a second.
"I don't want to see players sent off, but he's lucky there, Gabriel. It's not ended up counting for anything, but I think Pep Guardiola would have had a real noise up and whinge with some justification if Gabriel had scored late on or City had conceded a goal. I think he'd have been annoyed."
'Double yellow card a fair outcome'
The incident was reviewed on Ref Watch by former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher and Jay Bothroyd, both of whom had differening opinions.
Gallagher believed that Gabriel not being sent off was the right call, but Bothroyd was of the opinion that referee Anthony Taylor had made a mistake.
"It was a very fair outcome. Both of them were aggresive throughout the whole game, it just epitomised what was at stake," Gallagher said.
"Gabriel is very unwise with what he does, it is not the cleverest thing to do and he runs a risk. But if you look, he actually goes down the front of him and not through him, he does not headbutt him.
"But he is very lucky that Haaland was very responsible because if he hits the deck, the whole landscape changes and the referee has a different situation to deal with."
Bothroyd argued: "Gabriel was lucky - when we look at the rules, it is violent conduct if you put your head into someone's face. That was violent conduct and we have seen other people get sent off for that kind of movement towards someone's head.
"What Haaland said is absolutely right - if he goes down holding his face there, he is going to get a red card and then he is banned for three matches."
Haaland ready to ensure Arsenal come up short for a fifth time
Haaland's winner means that City now sit just three points behind the league leaders with a game in hand. A win against Burnley on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports, would see them return to the top of the table for the first time since August.
Having beaten Arsenal to the punch in three of the last four seasons, Haaland admitted he did not know if his side were in Mikel Arteta's head but that they were focused on making sure history repeated itself.
"I don't know, you need to ask them," Haaland said when asked if City were in Arsenal's head.
"The last four seasons they have come up short. For now, they are still first. They've still been the best team this season.
"I don't want to speak too much about them. We should just focus on ourselves. In three days, it's a new game. Go recover, eat well, relax and focus on the next one."
