Arsenal will have to face Man City in the Premier League this weekend without star man Bukayo Saka, Mikel Arteta has confirmed.Â
The winger has been sidelined by an Achilles problem since playing in the League Cup final, which the Gunners lost to City on 22nd March.
Saka’s absence will be a huge blow for Arsenal, who can virtually clinch the title with victory over Pep Guardiola’s side at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
The north London outfit are currently six points ahead at the top of the table, but could find themselves second by the next time they play.
Arsenal dealt Saka injury blow ahead of Man City clash
“Bukayo is out, that is for sure. The rest, let’s see,” Arteta said in his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.
The Arsenal boss is also sweating on the fitness of four key players ahead of the game. Non Madueke is a doubt after being forced off against Sporting Club in the Champions League on Wednesday night. The winger, though, is not believed to have suffered a serious injury and could be available.
“We have another training session tomorrow,” Arteta said. “He didn’t look that bad after the game and he was quite positive. He was a player that pushes through pain so I am hopeful that he will be available but we will have to wait and see if he will be available for tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Martin Odegaard are also facing a fight against time to be fit enough to face City.Â
“We will try again,” he added. “Some players are quite close but the turnaround is short. We will try tomorrow to push everybody and if they are in good position they will be part of us but if they are not, they won’t.”
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