Revealed: How close Arsenal came to signing Erling Haaland
Karan Tejwani
- 24 Oct 2022 09:40 BST
- 3 min read
Erling Haaland has had a flying start to life at Manchester City, scoring 22 goals in 15 appearances for the club and is proving to be the signing of the summer.
The Norwegian signed from Borussia Dortmund early in the summer transfer window in one of the most anticipated moves this season and he has delivered so far this season.
Based on current numbers, he’s set to finish as the Premier Leaegue’s top scorer and has a big lead already, having netted 17 times in the league this season.
READ: ‘Haaland will become first one BILLION transfer’ claims agent
Now, it’s emerged that Arsenal – Manchester City’s Premier League rivals – could’ve signed Haaland when he was a youngster and things could have been very different for the Norwegian star.
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Haaland could've been at Arsenal
Haaland has had plenty of interest in him since he was a youngster, having attracted the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United over the years.
Arsenal were another interested in him and according to former scout Brian McDermott, they were close to a deal with the forward.
READ: Real Madrid could be in for Haaland sooner than Man City hope
McDermott said: "I saw Haaland three times and thought, 'Gee, who is this guy?' I met his father and we had really good talks, but I felt like they knew the path they wanted for him.
“You can go to a big club at that age and you can get lost. I'm not saying he would have done it, because he was outstanding, but I felt that he and his father wanted to do it differently.
🔵 @ErlingHaaland redefining Man City pic.twitter.com/iuHUPczpOh
— Premier League (@premierleague) October 22, 2022
“His future was already written. He went to Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund. From there, you can go to City, to Madrid or wherever. They had it figured out."
He’s at City instead and he has starred having now scored over half the goals required to break the single-season scoring record in the Premier League.
Haaland is also only one goal away from matching the Golden Boot winner of 1997-98 and 1998-99 and two away from matching the 2008-09 record, showing what a great signing he has been already.
