Manchester City striker Erling Haaland believes the game against Arsenal at the Etihad next month is likely to prove crucial in the title race.

Haaland’s penalty secured a narrow win over Crystal Palace at the weekend, briefly closing the gap on the Gunners to three points. The forward says he is relishing every moment:

“With this gap, we just have to focus on ourselves. We have them (Arsenal) at home and a lot of games left to play still. Nothing is decided yet. I enjoy it (title race), this is England, this is what I’ve been watching my entire life. I enjoy every single second of it. It’s good to be in the middle of it.”

City don’t play in the league again until the start of April when they will face an out-of-sorts Liverpool at home. With the way things are going, Pep Guardiola’s side can’t afford to drop any points during the run-in.

After they take on the Reds, they have four Premier League fixtures against Southampton, Leicester and Brighton before the clash versus Arsenal.

Haaland will, of course, be key to securing victories in those matches. The Norwegian’s goal against Palace takes his Premier League total for the campaign to 27; just five off Mo Salah’s (32) record for a 38-game season.