Pep Guardiola sends message to Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard after Manchester City absence confirmed | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has sent a personal message to Arsenal’s captain Martin Odegaard, after the Norwegian was ruled out of action this weekend.

The 25-year-old sustained an ankle injury during the recent international break, adding to Mikel Arteta’s selection headaches during a crunch run of fixtures that will combine a Premier League double-header against Tottenham and Manchester City with European action.

Manchester City themselves came away from the September international break with an injury blow after Nathan Ake sustained a muscular problem that would rule him out until at least October’s national team duties.

Odegaard’s issue is no doubt of greater importance to Arsenal for the weekend’s clash however, and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was keen to point out that such issues are exactly why it was imperative that Mikel Arteta would invest so strongly on his playing squad.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference ahead of the visit of Mikel Arteta’s side on Sunday afternoon, Pep Guardiola was keen to send his best wishes to Martin Odegaard following his confirmed absence for the weekend’s fixture.

“I am so sorry for him,” Guardiola said. “Always I like to play against the biggest and toughest squads. Of course, he’s an important player, but year by year as Arsenal get better.”

Guardiola continued on Arsenal’s rise, “It’s because they invest a lot in a deep squad, to have more players available when you are during a long, long season and you have problems with injuries, suspensions, or bad form.

“To have a deep squad helps you. He’s the captain of Arsenal, and everybody knows how important and how much of an exceptional player he is,” the Manchester City boss closed on the Norwegian playmaker.

On the Manchester City fitness front, Kevin De Bruyne could yet make himself available for the meeting against Arsenal on Sunday, despite exiting the midweek Champions League meeting with Inter Milan through a groin issue.

One report suggested that Manchester City would be unwilling to risk the Belgian given the number of games on the horizon, however Guardiola insisted that a decision would be made during training on Saturday.