Arsenal and Manchester City could be without nine first-team players before their big match at the Etihad on Sunday.
On Sunday, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City will play Arsenal in the north. The game starts with important players on both teams out. Gunners captain Martin Odegaard will not be able to play, and Manchester City’s main creator Kevin De Bryune is expected to not be able to play either.
The winners of the Premier League have never lost in the league before this game. But Mikel Arteta’s team is two points behind because they tied with Brighton before the break.
Also, Manchester City has had an extra day of rest before Sunday’s big game. The goal for Mikel Arteta’s team is to win at the Etihad for the first time since 2015, so they won’t want to look for reasons why they lost.
Gunners leader Martin Odegaard is the main player who can’t play because he hurt his ankle while on international duty with Norway.
“The scans showed that he’s got some damage, especially on one of the ligaments in the ankle,” Mikel Arteta said about Martin Odegaard.
“Because I’m not a doctor, I don’t want to do that [give a return date].” We’ll miss him for a while, though, because it’s pretty important. Let’s hope not months, but we’ll see.
Like the Norwegian, Nathan Ake hurt himself during the international break and had to be taken off the field while playing for the Netherlands. He is likely to be out for at least a few weeks.
Takehiro Tomiyasu and new signing Mikel Merino are also not playing for Arsenal because they hurt their shoulders in their first practice.
Kevin De Bruyne might not be able to play for Manchester City because he got hurt in the Champions League game against Inter last week and had to take the week off.
Pep Guardiola said this about Kevin De Bruyne: “He feels a little better today, but we haven’t trained yet, so we’ll see.” He could be a part of it.
Because of a calf injury, Oleksandr Zinchenko has not yet returned to full first-team training for Arsenal. He missed last week’s North London Derby. The Ukrainian is still questionable for the game against the team he used to play for. Kieran Tierney is the last first-team player that Mikel Arteta’s team can’t use.
Manchester City’s Oscar Bobb is also hurt. While Savinho was taken off at halftime in the Champions League game on Wednesday, it’s not clear if he will play on Sunday.
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