Mikel Arteta issues injury update on Bukayo Saka ahead of Man City match

Arsenal will be without Bukayo Saka for Sunday's trip to Manchester City, manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed.

The Gunners will travel to the Etihad in a match which is being billed as a Premier League title decider, with the former having a six point lead over City at the top of the table. 

However, since the international break, Arsenal have been stumbling despite reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday, and with at least two more matches added to the fixture list, Arteta's squad is being plagued by more and more injuries.

"Bukayo is out, that is for sure. The rest, let's see," Arteta responded when asked about the winger who is recovering from an achilles injury.

This is not the only major injury concerning Areta with Noni Madueke, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Martin Odegaard trying to be fit for the pivotal league match. 

Arteta is hoping to have a better idea of which of those players battling injuries will be fit on Saturday before making the trip to Manchester. 

Arteta not interested in City draw 

For Arsenal, even a draw against City will be enough to maintain control in a title race, but this would continue to feed into the negative narrative surrounding the Gunners. 

Arsenal's two past games at the Etihad have ended in draws, making a win at City's home a significant psychological hurdle to overcome, and for Arteta he does not want to think about settling for a draw. 

“I’m not going to spend one second talking about that," Arteta said. 

"We prepare every game to win. That’s why we are where we are and we’re going to continue to do the same.

“We have earned the right to be in this position, to be challenging for the title, and with the possibility to win and the opportunity to win on Sunday, arguably against the best team and the best manager that this league has ever seen.

“That’s a huge privilege, and we can’t wait to play, and we’re going to prepare the game to win it, that’s for sure.”

It's not just recent matches at the Etihad where Arsenal have struggled, they have failed to beat City in their two previous encounters this season. 

The first league meeting in September ended in a 1-1 draw, while City beat the Gunners 2-0 in March's Carabao Cup final. 

If Arsenal are to prove the doubters wrong and win their first league title in 22 years, then they need to be beating City in order to keep the nerves at bay which are beginning to creep in both on the pitch and in the stands.

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