Report: Arsenal Without Key Players For Manchester City Showdown
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta faces an anxious wait on the fitness of key players in the potential title-winning showdown against Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta has produced a season to remember for Arsenal so far, going into their final six games top of the Premier League by five points and proving all his doubters wrong.
The team chasing the Gunners down are not unknown to the Spanish manager, having spent three and a half years as Pep Guardiola‘s assistant at Manchester City.
The reigning Premier League champions have two games in hand on Arsenal, having played in the FA Cup Semi-Final against Sheffield United last weekend with the North London side continuing their mission to win the Premier League against Southampton, something they haven’t done since 2004.
Arsenal vs Manchester City – Emirates Stadium – Wednesday 15th February 2023 Takehiro Tomiyasu of Arsenal and Jack Grealish of Manchester City
Manchester City sit on the possibility of a famous treble, something that Guardiola has distanced himself from in all interviews leading up to this match, stating that it’s the journalists that are making it more about a treble, secretly though, you know it would be something that he is aiming for.
The news coming out of London for Arteta and his side won’t make things any easier, with William Saliba missing out once again, having not recovered from an injury since being taken off against Sporting CP in the Europa League last-16 tie.
Granit Xhaka, a player who revived this season under Arteta, is one player the Gunners faithful will be looking to come back after he missed the 3-3 draw with relegation-threatened Southampton through illness. Still, it could be a couple of days too soon for the Switzerland International.
Granit Xhaka
IMAGO / PA Images
Former Cityzen, Oleksandr Zinchenko will be hoping he’s fit for a return to the Etihad Stadium, having played against Southampton but missed out against West Ham United the previous week.
As for Guardiola, he will be without Nathan Ake as he recovers from a hamstring injury but I looks like a fully fit squad apart from that.
With players missing their is still one statistic the blue half of Manchester will hope continues with Gunners boss Arteta having lost all six of his Premier League games against City. They are the only side the Spaniard has faced but failed to beat as a manager in the competition.
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