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Rob Dawson, reporter
Pep Guardiola responded to Roy Keane for his criticism of him Erling Haaland He described the Norwegian as “the best striker in the world.”
Keane said Haaland’s “overall play” was “almost like a League Two player” after the Manchester City striker took just 23 touches in the goalless draw with Arsenal on Sunday.
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The Manchester City coach responded to the former Manchester United midfielder, saying that Kane made a mistake and that Haaland was not responsible for his lack of goal-scoring opportunities against Arsenal.
“I don’t agree with him, absolutely not,” Guardiola said in a press conference on Tuesday. “It’s like [if] I said he is a coach for the second or third league. i don’t think so.
“He is the best striker in the world and helped us win what we won last season and the reason why we did not create many chances [against Arsenal] Not from Erling.
“We need more presence in the final third with more people and we played an exceptional game against Arsenal. I have reviewed that.”
Haaland scored 52 goals in 53 games as City won the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup treble last season, and followed that up by scoring 29 goals in 35 games so far this season.
Guardiola admitted he was “surprised” to hear the criticism directed at the 23-year-old from Kane, and suggested former players should know better.
“From the press I can understand because they have never been on the field before, but former players are always surprised,” Guardiola said. “It’s like when the referees retire, they always criticize the referees. How difficult is it for the players? It always surprises me. The memory disappears quickly.
“The problems that players have 1712146493they [the pundits] king. Few mistakes, they missed a thousand million times, and were hurt when former players criticized them.
“I’m not one to criticize my colleagues when I retire.”
Sunday’s result left Manchester City in third place in the Premier League with 64 points, three points behind leaders Liverpool and one point behind second-placed Arsenal, nine matches before the end of the season.
