Haaland has gone scoreless for three consecutive Premier League matches with low ratings; Manchester City suffers two draws in a row and falls 4 points behind Arsenal over two rounds.

In the early hours of January 5th Beijing time, in the 20th round of the Premier League's top four matchups, Manchester City drew 1-1 at home with Chelsea, conceding a late equalizer in the 94th minute, resulting in back-to-back draws. This means City has lost 4 points in two recent rounds, while Arsenal claimed all 6 points simultaneously. Supporters and media anticipated Arsenal to stumble during the busy fixture list, yet it was City who slipped first. Currently, Arsenal has extended their lead over Manchester City to 6 points on the Premier League table, with both teams having a goal difference of +26. This implies City must win at least two more matches than Arsenal in the remaining fixtures to overtake them. Although Arsenal might drop points, City is likely to do the same, making the title race this season increasingly less suspenseful.

Why did Manchester City falter before Arsenal? Perhaps it’s due to their star striker and the Premier League’s highest earner, Haaland. Although the Norwegian forward appears prolific each season, his crucial, timely goals are not that frequent. For example, when City dropped points in consecutive Premier League matches, Haaland’s performance was underwhelming, as he failed to score in three straight games and received consistently low ratings.

In the 1-1 draw against Chelsea, Haaland started and played the entire match but was ineffective, earning a post-match rating of 6.9.

In the 0-0 draw with Sunderland, Haaland again started and completed the full game without impacting the scoreline, receiving a rating of 6.2.

In the 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest, Haaland was in the starting lineup and played the full 90 minutes but remained quiet, earning a rating of 6.4.

Haaland has been scoreless in his last three Premier League matches, despite being the league’s highest-paid player. He repeatedly fails to find the net and consistently receives ratings below 7. Meanwhile, without Mbappé, Real Madrid cruised to a 5-1 win over Betis, showing that the new superstar duo still falls far short of the legendary Messi-Ronaldo era. City’s star striker Haaland’s inconsistent performances in key matches suggest that Manchester City may no longer be the chasing team capable of late surges. Instead, they appear to be faltering, while Arsenal has firmly seized the initiative in the title race and are performing more steadily. As Arteta said, Arsenal has transformed, and they are confident in winning the long-awaited Premier League title.