Alan Shearer leaps to Erling Haaland's defence over 'harmless ...

Alan Shearer has defended Erling Haaland after the Manchester City striker threw the ball at Gabriel in the closing stages of Sunday's 2-2 draw against Arsenal.

The Premier League champions went in at the break 2-1 down courtesy of goals from the Brazilian defender and Riccardo Calafiori, who had earlier cancelled out Haaland's 100th goal for City.

Leandro Trossard was sent off before half-time, handing City a numerical advantage for the second half. And they made that count right at the death when John Stones struck following a corner to break Arsenal hearts.

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Haaland had the bit between his teeth as City searched for an equaliser and eagle-eyed fans saw him launch the ball at the back of Gabriel's head in jubilation after Stones' goal. But Shearer scotched suggestions that the Norwegian goal machine had crossed the line with his antics.

Speaking on Match of the Day 2, Shearer said: "I don't think there was any harm in it. It was a really difficult game for the referee, but in terms of the aggression and the one v one battles, it was a fascinating game."

While Shearer felt Haaland's actions were harmless, others saw it differently. Both benches clashed after the incident while tempers flared again moments later when the striker poleaxed Thomas Partey after the restart.

Arsenal frustrated the hosts for the majority of the second half and they were slammed post-match by Bernardo Silva, who called out their time-wasting.

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The Portugal midfielder said: "It all started in the very first second. In the first action we realised what was going to happen. We had a player injured after they sent him to the ground twice in 10 minutes.

"We had a goal conceded after the referee called our captain and then didn't allow him to recover his position. The second goal is already their usual block to our keeper, which was allowed by the referee.

"Then the referee allowed a sequence of time-wasting events. The thing that bothers me the most is having a lot of meetings with the FA at the beginning of each season. They tell us they will control this kind of situation and will stop them, but in the end it doesn't have any worth. They say a lot but nothing happens."

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