Guardiola says Man City have suffered huge injury blow ahead of Arsenal game as star ruled out | OneFootball

Arsenal have received a boost after Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola confirmed today that Nathan Ake will be out until after the next international break.

The Netherlands international defender will not be available for selection when the Gunners visit Etihad Stadium on September 22 to take on the Premier League champions in their fifth league game of 2024-25.

Ake suffered an injury while on international duty with the Netherlands against Germany in the UEFA Nations League on Tuesday night and will be missing against Arsenal having had to be stretchered off.

The Gunners face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday before travelling again for the Man City game, and they need to win both games to keep themselves in the title race going forward.

They also have injury concerns of their own, with Martin Odegaard, Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino all ruled out of the North London derby, while Declan Rice is suspended.

However, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will be hoping for a miracle ahead of the Man City match as having the injured trio available for selection for such a game will be huge.

The Gunners started the new campaign with consecutive wins over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa before Brighton & Hove Albion held them to a 1-1 ahead of the international break.

They are desperate to go one better this season after finishing second in the league table behind Man City in each of the last two seasons, and they cannot afford to start dropping points this early in the campaign if they are to win their first Premier League title since 2004 next year.