Erling Haaland sends Premier League title message to Arsenal as Man City make point

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Erling Haaland scored his 100th Premier League goal on Tuesday night as Manchester City defeated Fulham 5-4 in a thriller at Craven Cottage

Erling Haaland fired a title warning to Arsenal after the Manchester City striker broke yet another Premier League record. The 25-year-old Norwegian became the fastest player to reach 100 Premier League goals with the opener at Fulham on Tuesday night as City survived a huge scare to win 5-4 having almost thrown away a 5-1 lead.

The victory moved the Blues to within two points of leaders Arsenal ahead of the Gunners game with Brentford on Wednesday night. And Haaland, speaking in the shadow of the Craven Cottage Christmas tree, knows how crucial the winter period can be in the title race, warning Mikel Arteta's side 'the league is not finished.'

"This period now is about getting the points, getting three points here and there because it is a tough period," he said. "With the schedule it is incredible, so many games in the cups, Champions League, Premier [League] so in the end it is about winning games and being consistent and that is what you have to try and do.

"If you be there, you never know what is going to happen. For sure the league is not finished by Christmas so you need to be there and that is what you have to try and do."

Haaland and Pep Guardiola conducted a brief chat after the game at Fulham before the pair went off to complete their respective media duties. Much was made of the duo's talk on the pitch after the win over Leeds but this was a much more casual conversation.

When asked to about what Guardiola told him, Haaland said: "He said that because we have a chat yesterday, day before the game after training, he said that I need to do everything you can to stay sharp and stay fit and that’s what I have been doing. I take care of my body and I need to be ready for every single game because I need to do my job."

His job is to score goals and no-one has been able to reach a century quicker than the Norwegian in the Premier League. Reflecting on that achievement, Haaland said: "Yeah it’s a huge thing, it has gone really fast, faster than expected, but again a huge thing to be able to do this. It is amazing so thank you to the whole club, teammates, fans, all of the support, family, everyone."