Pep Guardiola has responded to Myles Lewis-Skelly imitating Erling Haaland’s celebration during Arsenal’s dominant 5-1 victory over Manchester City.
Arsenal crushed City at the Emirates on Sunday, closing the gap on league leaders Liverpool. Martin Ødegaard opened the scoring, but Haaland equalized after halftime. However, Thomas Partey quickly restored Arsenal’s lead before Lewis-Skelly—who mimicked Haaland’s signature celebration—Kai Havertz, and Ethan Nwaneri added further goals.
Haaland’s father, Alfie, criticized Arsenal after the club shared an image of their young star copying the Man City striker’s celebration.
In his post-match press conference, Guardiola was asked about Lewis-Skelly’s gesture. Initially unaware of it, he responded with amusement: “Oh, I didn’t see it… that’s good. So, he did Haaland’s celebration? They did it? Ah, that’s good.” As he left, he jokingly asked the Man City press officer, “Did you like my answer?”
Reflecting on the defeat, Guardiola told the BBC he was only disappointed with the final 25 minutes. He admitted City lost control and deviated from their usual playstyle, despite performing well for most of the match.
“After conceding early, we responded well and played a good game up until 1-1. But after the deflected goal and their third, we lost our structure. At 3-1, they were comfortable, and it became more difficult.”
City’s seventh league defeat leaves them 15 points behind Liverpool. They will look to bounce back next Saturday in their FA Cup clash against Leyton Orient.