Mikel Arteta reveals how Arsenal plan to stop Erling Haaland

Mikel Arteta has revealed how he plans to deal with Erling Haaland ahead of their Premier League clash against Manchester City.

The Gunners travel to the Etihad for a mouth-watering contest on Wednesday in what is likely to decide who lifts the trophy come May.

Mikel Arteta will know anything but a victory leaves the door open for City to climb ahead of them in the table.

However, in order to claim all three points, they will have to keep goalscoring machine Haaland quiet for 90 minutes - a task very few have managed this season.

The Norwegian has scored a remarkable 48 goals in all competitions this season, as he looks set to smash every record in the book.

Although the Arsenal boss has outlined how he plans to deal with the 21-year-old.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arteta revealed he had identified City's weaknesses and suggested his side needed to control every opposition player on the pitch.

"Obviously, we have worked on their threat as well as we have worked on their weaknesses and we know where they are," said the Spaniard.

"The issue with City is that they start with the goalkeeper - they are a threat when the ball is with him. You have to control every single player."

When asked how Haaland has changed City, Arteta waxed lyrical about his ability in front of goal, stating: "When you look at the numbers, there's no comparison with anybody else.

"He's able to produce that because the setup is done the right way for him, the players that he's got around him, the way he is coached, as well as obviously the qualities that he has. With him, they have the capacity to play in different ways.

"Because when they play really far from your goal, they have the capacity to exploit open spaces. And when they are attacking low blocks, now they have a different threat, because they are a very physical team right now."

The Gunners boss went on to reveal that the only way to stop Haaland was by 'preventing it at the source' - in essence stopping the ball getting to him in the first place.

"Obviously, preventing it at the source is probably the best recipe [to stop Haaland scoring]", added Arteta.