Manchester City's defensive crisis worsens with fresh John Stones blow
Pep Guardiola's men — third in the top-flight table — will fall four points behind the league-leading Gunners if they fall to a second defeat to Mikel Arteta's men this season, having gone down 1-0 at the Emirates in February.
On the flip side, the treble winners could reclaim their perch with a satisfactory result if Liverpool also fall short against Brighton & Hove Albion, but Guardiola risks entering the showdown with a decimated rearguard.
During England's loss to Brazil at the weekend, Kyle Walker lasted just 19 minutes before succumbing to an unspecified injury, which saw him withdraw from the squad for the meeting with Belgium.
Furthermore, Manuel Akanji pulled out of the Switzerland squad earlier on Tuesday, while Portugal's Ruben Dias was one of eight Selecao players not risked for their second friendly with Slovenia.
John Stones joins growing City injury listNow, Guardiola's defensive dilemma has worsened owing to an injury to John Stones, who lasted just 10 minutes during England's friendly with Belgium before succumbing to an issue.
The former Everton man was selected to partner Lewis Dunk for the visit of the Red Devils, but he got his leg awkwardly caught in the turf as he miscontrolled the ball and signalled that he needed to come off.
Liverpool's Joe Gomez was brought on to replace the stricken Stones, whose injury severity remains unclear at this point, but he has now emerged as Guardiola's latest doubt for the visit of the Premier League leaders this weekend.
Stones has already endured a frustrating season with injuries in the 2023-24
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