‘Nothing is decided yet’ – Haaland convinced Man City can beat Arsenal to the title

Erling Haaland remains convinced Manchester City can beat Arsenal to the title and win their fifth Premier League in six seasons.

The prolific Norwegian striker did his part to ensure the defending champions kept pace with leaders Arsenal by converting a penalty .

Pep Guardiola’s side have 11 league games left, including a critical encounter with the Gunners at the Etihad on April 26, and Haaland is determined to ensure his debut season in English football is a memorable one.

“With this gap, we just have to focus on ourselves,” he told the club’s official website.

“We have them (Arsenal) at home and a lot of games left to play still. Nothing is decided yet. I enjoy it (title race), this is England, this is what I’ve been watching my entire life.

“I enjoy every single second of it. It’s good to be in the middle of it.”

Saturday’s penalty was Haaland’s 28th Premier League goal and 34th across all competitions for City, who signed the 22-year-old from Borussia Dortmund last May.

It also brought him one closer to the Premier League record for goals scored by an individual player in one campaign, jointly held by Alan Shearer, who netted 34 for Blackburn in 1994-95, one season after Andy Cole did the same for Newcastle.

It ultimately took Haaland 78 minutes to find the back of the net at Selhurst Park after missing a good chance before the break, when he fired an effort over the crossbar from close range.

He said: “Of course I don’t like to miss chances. I had one in the first half that I should have scored, there was a small thing in the grass that made the ball bounce higher.

“Everyone knows how important this win is for us. We have to keep going. I say this every time but it’s the truth.

“I was not concerned (when it was 0-0). I just do as I do every game, focus on my game. It’s not that bad, we have to keep going. As I said it’s not easy, I’m really proud.

“We have to play different ways. Other teams adapt to how City play, of course because in the last five years we have four Premier League (titles). That’s normal. What can I do, we just have to try to do our best and perform.”