Erling Haaland regret over Man City call speaks volumes for Pep Guardiola plan

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland brushed off his comment to Mikel Arteta last season but wishes he could change some actions

A dejected Erling Haaland during the FA Cup final between Manchester City and Crystal Palace

It went slightly under the radar last season that Erling Haaland scored 31 goals. More if you're counting the Club World Cup as part of that campaign, but Manchester City didn't so let's not either.

Haaland started the campaign on fire to help City be top of the Premier League until November, before everything went horribly wrong. The Norwegian still managed to break 30 goals in an injury-hit season that saw him score his first goal against Real Madrid, but he was the first to admit that he needed to be better just as everyone in the team did.

And when the Blues had the chance to end their season with silverware, one of Haaland's decisions backfired spectacularly. Chasing his first goal at Wembley, the 25-year-old opted not to take a penalty his team won in the FA Cup Final and they ended up losing the game after Omar Marmoush saw his effort saved.

Haaland was not at the top of his confidence at the time and had missed penalties previously, but it still bemused everyone in the ground who expected City's No.9 to put his hand up.

"Erling Haaland is a world-class forward, but when we're talking about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, there's no way they're giving that ball away," former United striker Wayne Rooney said on BBC Sport. "That's what separates those two players from Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe and these players.

"They are selfish and they want to score every game. When he misses chances, I think you can see it gets to him and it does affect him.

"Maybe the thought of taking a penalty at Wembley might have been too much for him. You never know, he's a human being."

Haaland is not looking to dwell on last season but did admit in a wide-ranging interview with TIME Magazine that it was his mistake. Where he had not regrets over telling Mikel Arteta to stay humble, he would act differently now with the penalty.

“I shouldn’t have given it to a new player,” he said. “So all the responsibility is on me. I put him in this situation. I had a good feeling on him. But I should have taken it myself.”

It won't please fans to know that Haaland belatedly accepts he should have taken it, but the fact that he did rather than doubling down on his original decision reflects something else often forgotten with his game - he is still learning. Even if it feels like he has mastered finishing, there is much more that can be improved.

Pep Guardiola touched on this when he went against his previous philosophy as a coach and inserted Haaland into the leadership group. The decision was made not because the striker is ready to lead, but because with nine years left on his bumper new contract "he has to start to learn what it means to be a captain".

City want more from Haaland this season in terms of his performance, but they also want more on and off the pitch in his new role. The goalscoring machine is more aware now of the things he needs to do, so if he can put that into practice it should help everyone.

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