Speaking to talkSPORT ahead of Manchester City's upcoming home game against Arsenal in the fifth round of the Premier League, soccer pundit Deeney spoke highly of Norwegian striker Erling Haaland and gave an insight into the highly-anticipated clash.
Thoughts on Harland
Deeney began by rebutting talk of Harland's slow start to the season, emphasizing, "To say Harland has had a slow start to the year is a joke. At the end of last year, when some questioned his performance last season, let's not forget that he still scored 25 goals. How is that a 'bad season'?" Deeney believes that Harland is ready to make a big impact in the new season after a great summer and vacation, and he predicts that Harland will show an amazing goal-scoring efficiency at the beginning of the new season.
Deeney also noted that Harland is a classic old-school poacher who is big, powerful and incredibly efficient on goal. However, he also mentioned a potential weakness of Harland's, which is the difficulty he may have in getting the ball on his back or when there is not enough space behind him. For this reason, Deeney suggests that Harland learn ball-handling skills from seniors such as Drogba to further improve his all-round game.
Talking about the Man City-Arsenal game
On the upcoming match between Manchester City and Arsenal, Deeney believes it will be a very exciting and pragmatic matchup. He predicted that Arsenal will adopt defensive counter-attacks and set-piece tactics to challenge City, noting that if De Bruyne is unable to play, City will need to find new ways to win. However, Deeney emphasized that Harland will be a key player in determining the direction of the game, and his goal-scoring ability will put Arsenal's defense to a huge test.
Deeney also mentioned the recent performances of Manchester City and Arsenal at the defensive end. He pointed out that City have been the first to concede in their last two home games, while Arsenal have kept a clean sheet in their last two matches. According to him, the key to this match will be which team can score first, as it will force the opponents to give their all.
The impact of the match on the Premier League title race
Speaking on whether the match will decide the title race in the Premier League this season, Deeney said, "If Arsenal lose, people will naturally think that Manchester City win. But from a soccer point of view, I don't think City will lose this game." He emphasized that City has performed well in the past 10 matches and is as stable and strong as Manchester United in the Ferguson era. He believes that City will win the league title again and show the same dominance as Tiger Woods did at the peak of his golfing career.
