Haaland Bemused as Gabriel Escapes Red for Headbutt; Neville Incredulous

A controversial moment in Man City's 2-1 win over Arsenal has left Erling Haaland scratching his head—and Gary Neville absolutely gobsmacked.

The flash point came late in the contest when tensions boiled over between Haaland and Arsenal's Gabriel Magalhaes. After the Norwegian was pushed during a stoppage in play, the pair squared up head to head. Gabriel then threw his head forward towards Haaland in what appeared to be a clear act of violent conduct.

Referee Anthony Taylor, however, opted for a yellow card rather than dismissing the Brazilian. VAR reviewed the incident and backed the decision, determining Gabriel's action was "not excessively aggressive or violent."

Haaland was quick to air his bewilderment post-match. Speaking to Sky Sports, the City striker suggested the outcome might have been entirely different had he hit the deck. "I think if I fell on the floor there, which I would not do unless someone really attacks me, I think maybe it would be a red card," he explained. "I'm not sure. I haven't seen the situation to be honest but it is what it is. I will not fall on the floor as easy as this."

He continued with a note of exasperation to Viaplay: "Should I tell the referee? Doesn't matter. Look at this, what is this?! It's not football, I know."

When pressed on whether he'd done anything to provoke Gabriel, Haaland gave a characteristically cheeky response: "No, I didn't. I would never do something like that… Okay maybe sometimes! But no I didn't do anything."

The City striker also questioned Taylor's explanation that both players shared blame. "He says it's both of our fault. That's what he says all the time," Haaland remarked dryly.

Haaland had earlier sealed the points with a second-half goal, cancelling out Rayan Cherki's opener before Kai Havertz levelled for Arsenal. The victory moves City to within three points of the Gunners, with a game in hand against Burnley on Wednesday offering the chance to go top.

Former referee Mark Halsey sided with Taylor's call, telling The Sun that two yellows for mutual aggression was the appropriate sanction. "It's subjective," Halsey said. "Some will say yes, some will say no and I thought on balance, the decision to give two yellow cards was correct."

He added: "If you look at Haaland, I think he's done Gabriel a massive favour by staying on his feet. We've seen in previous games where players have gone down and obviously the red card has been shown and they've served a three-match ban. I think Gabriel's got a lot to thank Haaland for."

Yet Neville was having none of it. The United legend was visibly stunned Gabriel hadn't been shown a straight red. "Now why did you do that, Gabriel?" he said on Sky Sports. "You can put your heads against each other, I got done in a game a long time ago, the moment you throw it forward you get a red. I can't believe that's not a red to be honest."