Pep Guardiola confirms major Man City injury blow ahead of Arsenal clash

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has confirmed that defender John Stones won't be fit to face Premier League title rivals Arsenal on Sunday afternoon. Both sides have enjoyed a solid start to the 2023/24 campaign, with the Citizens leading the league, ahead of second-placed Tottenham Hotspur, as well as the Gunners in third, by one point.

But City will be without star holding midfielder Rodri for their trip to the Emirates Stadium this weekend, with the Spanish international suspended after receiving a straight red card against Nottingham Forest last month. Guardiola has now also admitted that centre-back Stones remains sidelined despite being on the bench for Wednesday evening's Champions League outing against RB Leipzig.

«No, Stones is not ready to play maybe for national team but not for us,» Guardiola said after the former Everton man was called up for England duty on Thursday. Meanwhile, Arsenal have several injury problems of their own going into Sunday's highly-anticipated fixture, with Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka both major doubts.

Martinelli has been sidelined with a hamstring problem for almost three weeks now, picking up the issue during a 1-0 victory away to Everton. Fellow young winger Saka has been through the wars recently as well, sustaining minor knocks against Tottenham and Bournemouth before being forced off during his side's 2-1 defeat to RC Lens on Tuesday.

But Arteta confirmed on Friday that the Hale End academy graduate is in contention to face the reigning champions. «He’s in contention, let’s see how he progresses from here to Sunday,» the Spaniard responded when asked about the 22-year-old's current fitness status.

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