Arsenal are preparing for their biggest Premier League game of the season on Sunday, and they could take on a Manchester City side without several key players.
The March international break is in the books and are sights are now set for the beginning of the run-in, which doesn’t start much tougher for Mikel Arteta’s title hopefuls.
The Gunners would take a big leap towards their first Premier League crown in 20 years should they win at the Etihad for the first time since 2015.
Arsenal have injury concerns of their own heading into the game, but they pale in comparison to City’s.
6 players Man City could be without for huge Arsenal clash
It was a chaotic break for City, who saw three of their star defenders succumb to injury setbacks in the space of just a couple of days over the break. First, Kyle Walker was forced off early on against Brazil, Manuel Akanji picked up a knock during Switzerland’s draw with Denmark, then John Stones withdrew in the opening exchanges against Belgium on Tuesday night.
Gareth Southgate suggested Walker might’ve been dealing with tightness, while an adductor issue is bothering the majestic but injury prone Stones. Akanji’s knock isn’t expected to keep him out of Sunday’s game, with Walker also likely to feature. Stones, meanwhile, is said to be 50/50. The player himself said on Tuesday night that he doesn’t know whether he’ll be good to go against the Gunners.
That’d be a huge loss for the hosts.
Elsewhere, Matheus Nunes is dealing with a foot injury and will be assessed upon his return to Manchester. Those are City’s four casualties from the break, with the quartet joining Ederson and Kevin De Bruyne on the sidelines.
De Bruyne missed Belgium’s fixtures as well as City’s FA Cup win over Newcastle with the break. The superstar, however, was spotted in training alongside Jack Grealish and both are set to be available this weekend.
There are more questions surrounding Ederson, who’s nursing a thigh injury. There’s growing expectation that the Brazilian will return sooner than projected to play against Arsenal, but his status is still up in the air.
I’m backing Ederson, Walker, Akanji, and De Bruyne all to start on Sunday. Nunes will feature on the bench, with Stones to miss out entirely.
