Manchester City will try to finish a challenging week unblemished when they visit an Arsenal side hoping to see some of its injured stars return to match fitness.
After a difficult start to the season, City (2-2-0, 6 points) returned from the September international window in impressive form.
Last weekend, Erling Haaland’s brace propelled City to a 3-0 home win over Manchester United, a result that halted a two-match Premier League losing streak.
Then on Thursday night, Haaland and Jeremy Doku scored after halftime in a 2-0 home victory over reigning Serie A champions Napoli to open their UEFA Champions League campaign.
City still enter the weekend six points back of Liverpool in the early Premier League standings as manager Pep Guardiola’s reworked squad begins its bid to win another league title after seeing a run of four consecutive crowns halted last season.
But Guardiola is still placing the most importance on his squad’s overall development at the moment, rather than the match-by-match results.
“Seeing the team growing up, that is my only concern right now, making a step forward,” he said on Friday. “We are not going to win the Premier League on Sunday and we are not going to lose the Premier League on Sunday.”
Arsenal’s only defeat so far came at Liverpool at the end of August in a tightly contested 1-0 contest decided by Dominik Soboszlai’s brilliant late free kick.
That’s the only goal Mikel Arteta’s Gunners (3-1-0, 9 points) have conceded this season. They rebounded from the defeat with a 3-0 home win against Nottingham Forest in the league last weekend and a 2-0 Champions League victory at Athletic Club in Bilbao Spain, on Tuesday.
There is a chance that forward Bukayo Saka, midfielder Martin Odegaard and defender Ben White could all participate this weekend after recent injuries.
“Everything has been modified so far for them (in training),” Arteta said of the trio. “There are still a few things to clear and (Saturday) we’ll have more information on whether they are part of the squad or if they have a chance to be part of the squad.”
Saka, who scored 47 Premier League goals across the previous four seasons, hasn’t played since the second weekend due to a hamstring issue. However, Arsenal’s summer reinforcements have helped weather his absence, including striker Viktor Gyorkes, who has a team-high three league goals so far.
–Field Level Media
