Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is set to bench a high-profile member of his squad for their blockbuster clash away to Premier League title rivals Man City on Sunday, with the Spaniard seemingly making a decision on his team already.
Man City vs Arsenal – team news and injury updates
The Gunners travel to Manchester for their third huge game of the week, having already beaten north London rivals Tottenham 1-0 in the derby last weekend and thereafter coming away from Atalanta with a 0-0 draw in the Champions League on Thursday night.
Arsenal will be in good spirits after this promising run of results without key players, most notably club captain and chief creator Martin Odegaard. The Norway international sustained “significant” ankle ligament damage on international duty, and has been absent from the field ever since as he continues his recovery.
“The scan showed some damage around the ligaments in the ankle so we are going to miss him,” said Arteta in an Odegaard injury update before Atalanta.
“It’s something quite significant so we are going to lose him for a while. Hopefully not months. He’s our captain, he’s been one of the biggest and best players in our team. Our identity is very linked to how he plays and behaves. It’s a big test for the team to see how able we are to show a different face.”
Arsenal’s next five Premier League games | Date |
|---|---|
Man City (away) | September 22 |
Leicester City (home) | September 28 |
Southampton (home) | October 5 |
Bournemouth (away) | October 19 |
Liverpool (home) | October 27 |
There were initial fears that the 25-year-old could be absent till Christmas, but reports since have claimed that Arsenal are hopeful Odegaard could return for their match against Liverpool on October 27.
Meanwhile, summer signing Mikel Merino is sidelined with a shoulder fracture, so he is also set to miss their face-off against City. The Spain international joins Kieran Tierney (hamstring), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf) – who have been missing through injury as well.
On the opposing side, Kevin De Bruyne is an injury doubt for Man City, and supporters will be hoping that the Belgian misses out on what is an absolutely pivotal clash. Oscar Bobb and Nathan Ake are ruled out against Arsenal, but apart from that, City have a near-fully fit squad.
Arsenal set to bench Raheem Sterling against Man City
The absences of Merino and Odegaard give Arteta a real selection headache. Despite his effectiveness in a makeshift centre-forward role, Kai Havertz was dropped into midfield against Atalanta with Gabriel Jesus playing up top instead.
This arguably stifled Arsenal’s usual attacking flair, especially without Odegaard, so it will be interesting to see if Arteta opts to do the same thing against City. According to GiveMeSport, one man he won’t be turning to right from the off is summer signing Raheem Sterling.
The Englishman, who Arsenal are paying around £163,000-per-week during his loan from Chelsea, is yet to make his full debut for the Gunners – instead settling for cameos off the bench against Spurs and Atalanta.
GMS write that Arteta is set to bench Sterling against Man City once again, so it appears the 29-year-old will have to wait a little while longer for his first start. It is unclear how the Spaniard is planning to use Sterling over the course of 2024/2025, but Arteta has revealed that the ex-Liverpool and City star is desperate to prove his worth.
“When someone has got that in his belly you sense it straight away,” said Arteta on Sterling. “Obviously, I don’t need to discover anything about his quality and what he can bring to the team.
“What I see is hunger. He is a player who wants to play every minute of every game. When that is not the case he’s not happy.”
