Arsenal legend Alan Smith slams Erling Haaland's dad as Man City war of words escalates
Former Arsenal striker Alan Smith has waded into the war of words involving Erling Haaland senior after Myles Lewis-Skelly mimicked his son's goal celebration last weekend
Alan Smith has told Alf-Inge Haaland to 'get back in his box' after he aimed a dig at Arsenal following their recent 5-1 win over Manchester City.
Haaland, the father of City's star striker, Erling, took to social media to hit out at Arsenal after Myles Lewis-Skelly mimicked his son's goal celebration after scoring in the match.
Sharing a picture of the youngster's celebration on Arsenal's X account, which was captioned with the words 'THIS TEAM', he wrote sarcastically: "This Team that wins everything. Ehhhhh, not," pointing to the fact that City have beaten Arsenal to the Premier League title for two years running.
But Smith, a former Gunners icon, has had a dig back at Haaland Senior by mischievously pointing out that the Norwegian hardly won a shedload of major honours during his own career.
READ MORE: Myles Lewis-Skelly faces familiar opinion as Arsenal star told to "wind his neck in"READ MORE: Arsenal star Myles Lewis-Skelly told he shouldn't be allowed to mock Erling HaalandSpeaking on the Seaman Says podcast, via Betway, Smith said: "Haaland's dad had a little chip, didn't he? 'Saying, 'Oh, yeah, all those trophies you've won,' or something like that. I thought, "Oh, leave it'. It's just funny!
"By the way, Alf-Inge, you didn't win much! Back in your box. You can't live your life through your son, you know. It was a great moment, wasn't it? Those kinds of things are great."
Lewis-Skelly's actions have divided opinion online and amongst pundits. It was confirmed earlier this week by the Premier League's chief football officer, Tony Scholes, that moving forward, celebrations would be scrutinised and disciplinary action could even be taken in some instances.
While Lewis-Skelly's celebration has certainly proven to be a talking point in the week following the match, City manager, Pep Guardiola, has made it clear that he has no issue with the youngster's actions.
When he was asked if he would like to see his players retaliate in their next game with Arsenal, Guardiola said: "No, come on, it's a reaction, forget! It has happened. Later in our games maybe we'll find them in the Champions League this season.
"Otherwise, it's over the chance we can face, and next season we'll try to beat them. This season we could not do it at home and away.
"That's all, it's really, really not important."
Arsenal and City will not face each other in the league again this season but they could yet meet in the Champions League if they both progress past the Last 16 phase.
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