Erling Haaland basked in Myles Lewis-Skelly’s red card against West Ham in the latest chapter of their squabble this season.
Lewis-Skelly was sent off when his yellow card was upgraded for a foul on Mohammed Kudus during Arsenal’s 1-0 loss to West Ham on Saturday.
The pair have been at odds ever since Haaland shouted ‘who the f*** are you?’ on the teenager’s Arsenal debut in September.
And Lewis-Skelly hit back at the Norwegian when he copied his trademark meditation celebration as Arsenal hammered Manchester City 5-1 earlier this month.
But now the pendulum has swung back in Haaland’s favour.
After West Ham beat Arsenal at the Emirates – a result which seriously damages the Gunners’ Premier League title hopes – some West Ham fans did Haaland’s celebrtion outside the ground in apparent mockery of Lewis-Skelly. And Haaland, ever the mischief-maker, liked that post.
Erling Haaland liked a post with fans copying his celebration after Myles Lewis-Skelly was sent off against West Ham
Lewis-Skelly was dismissed for a foul on Mohammed Kudus as Arsenal lost 1-0 on Saturday
Haaland and Lewis-Skelly’s spat erupted when the Man City star asked ‘who the f*** are you?’ in September
Of course, he could have just been liking it because they were copying his celebration.
However, the context of the imitation is unavoidable, what with Lewis-Skelly’s sending-off and Arsenal’s title hopes being hampered.
The 18-year-old was adjudged to have denied a potential goal-scoring opportunity as he fouled Kudus on the half-way line on Saturday.
West Ham winger Kudus dispossessed Lewis-Skelly and had a clear path to goal in front of him, with David Raya way off his line.
Lewis-Skelly made a reckless lunge, initially receiving a yellow card for his transgression.
But, after a short VAR review, the teenager was sent off for the second time in Arsenal’s last four Premier League fixtures.
It made the Gunners’ task of getting back into the game a whole lot tougher, as they sought an equaliser after Jarrod Bowen opened the scoring for the visitors moments before half-time.
Just last month, on January 25, Lewis-Skelly was also dismissed against Wolves.
Haaland told Arteta to ‘stay humble’ when the sides drew 2-2 at the Etihad in February
The Hale End graduate was shown a straight red card by referee Michael Oliver in the first half of Arsenal’s 1-0 win over the relegation-threatened side for fouling Matt Doherty in his own half.
However, a couple of days later, the FA decided to overturn the decision upon further review.
As well as Lewis-Skelly, Haaland has had on ongoing feud with Arsenal, who in the previous two seasons were pushing Manchester City for the title.
After their 2-2 draw in September, Haaland told Gunners boss Mikel Arteta to ‘stay humble’, a comment which sparked a feisty confrontation.
And Arsenal were keen to get their own back at the return fixture in early February at the Emirates.
The striker was booed and jeered before Sunday’s game. Arsenal defender Gabriel then laughed in Haaland’s face while celebrating Martin Odegaard ‘s early opener.
This was revenge after Haaland threw a ball at Gabriel’s head in the aftermath of John Stones’ dramatic late equaliser earlier in the season.
At full time, Arsenal attempted to troll Haaland using their stadium sound system by playing rapper Kendrick Lamar’s 2017 track HUMBLE.
Arsenal were quick to mock the striker during their 5-1 hammering of City earlier this month
Fans held up ‘stay humble, eh’ signs to hit back at the Norwegian forward at the Emirates
Haaland responded by smiling towards the crowd and pointing to the golden badges on his City shirt – the ones reserved for the reigning winners of the Premier League and the FIFA Club World Cup.
He had also earlier pointed at his golden Premier League badge during a brief conversation with Gabriel.
Arsenal have never won the Club World Cup and have not won the Premier League since 2004, having finished second behind City in each of the past two seasons.
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