Arsene Wenger believes that Manchester City’s striker, Erling Haaland has an attitude that is similar to that of Karim Benzema. The former Arsenal Manager was describing how pure strikers have become a rare breed in today’s game while speaking to the Independent.
Erling Haaland, according to Arsene Wenger, is an old-school No. 9, just like Karim Benzema, who wants to score goals.
Erling Haaland and Karim Benzema share a similar mentality, according to Arsene Wenger
Recently, Ilkay Gundogan called Erling Haaland “amazing”. Although the 23-year-old is frequently criticized for having a very restricted range of skills outside of goal scoring.
So much so that some supporters feel that Haaland should never receive a Ballon d’Or award in the course of his career because of how underwhelming his entire game is in comparison to that of prior winners like Messi and Ronaldo.
Arsene Wenger, though, appears to be a fan of Haaland’s focus when it comes to scoring goals in a manner similar to Benzema.
Speaking to the Independent, Arsene Wenger said
“If I look at Haaland, Haaland is for me the real typical striker. He looks like he is ready for the fight, ready to be focused on only scoring goals. Like [Olivier] Giroud is a real striker in mentality, that explains why he’s still playing at 36. And [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, [Karim] Benzema, they have been educated for the fight, they have been educated to finish as well.”
Wenger claims Erling Haaland can develop as an overall player
Erling Haaland’s mentality is similar to that of Karim Benzema. Arsene Wenger is also correct that this could be the secret to his further improvement as a striker.
The Norwegian’s detractors are correct to point out that his all-around game requires improvement. But it is absurd to criticize a No. 9 for being one of the best pure goal scorers the game has ever seen at his age.
Haaland is keeping the art of goalscoring alive and to such a level that it would not be crazy to back him to go down as the greatest frontman of all time in a market where world-class attackers are hard to come by.
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