Not for the first time, Arsenal managed to stop Erling Haaland from posing a threat as they claimed a 1-0 win over Manchester City before the international break. Indeed, the Norwegian striker was limited to an Expected Goals (xG) value of 0.00 as he failed to register a single shot on goal. The same happened in this season’s Community Shield.

Haaland is still delivering at a typically high rate - he has scored eight goals in eight Premier PINC League fixtures this season - but there is sense that he is currently playing within himself. Haaland was a force of nature in the second half of last season as City won an historic Treble. Right now, though, he is somewhere below that level.

This could have something to do with the players around Haaland. Last season, the Norwegian had Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan to play off. Over time, Manchester City figured out a way to involve Haaland in their possession play with de Bruyne and Gundogan often breaking beyond him to provide verticality.

So far this season, though, Manchester City haven’t had the same verticality. Gundogan left the club at the end of last season for Barcelona while de Bruyne has been sidelined through injury for a prolonged period of time. Julian Alvarez has instead been deployed as the supporting attacker in the space around Haaland.

Alvarez has taken a giant leap forward in his development this season. While the Argentine was a good rotational option for Manchester City last term, he has been a key figure in recent weeks and months. It could be argued City’s attacking unit is now more rounded for having Alvarez at the centre of it.

The summer signing of Jeremy Doku has also given Manchester City a different dimension in the final third with the Belgian winger excellent in one-on-one situations against opposition defenders. Jack Grealish faces a fight for his place in the team under pressure from Doku who continues to improve.

Pep Guardiola used Alvarez and Haaland as something of a partnership through pre-season, but that was with de Bruyne as part of the attacking midfield unit. With de Bruyne currently not part of the team, the balance has been upset for Haaland. It has become easier to isolate him from the rest of the side.

Manchester City were able to overcome a similar problem in the first part of last season, when many believed Haaland had made a mistake in joining Guardiola’s team. The City boss will likely find a solution just as he did before, but there is some truth to the idea Haaland isn’t quite the same player at the moment.