Manchester City fitness and injury news confirmed by Pep Guardiola for Arsenal clash | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has confirmed the state-of-play in his Manchester City squad as they prepare to face Arsenal in the Premier League this weekend.

The Premier League champions travel south to the Emirates Stadium this weekend in search of yet another crucial three points as they look to recover their campaign and mount a strong challenge for a top-four place in the division.

Victory over Mikel Arteta’s side would cut the gap between themselves and Arsenal to just three points, however Pep Guardiola and several City players including Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva have already insisted that they are out of the title race with Liverpool.

Manchester City will come into the clash buoyant after two significant victories across competitions, coming from behind to defeat both Chelsea and Club Brugge via 3-1 scorelines in the Premier League and Champions League respectively.

And this weekend will also see the club’s three new signings become available for selection once again having been ineligible to feature in European competition for Pep Guardiola’s side in midweek.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference ahead of Manchester City’s meeting with Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, Pep Guardiola confirmed that there has been no change to the fitness picture in his first-team squad.

“No, continue the same,” Guardiola responded when asked whether he is expecting any of his sidelined stars for the visit of Club Brugge to be back and available for the selection this weekend.

As such, that would likely mean that a defensive duo of Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake remain unavailable for selection alongside Jeremy Doku, and the longer-term defensive midfield absentee in Rodri.

There remains a possibility that Oscar Bobb could return to matchday involvement this weekend however, after the Norwegian has been stepping up his training ground activities throughout the month with a return eyed for Leyton Orient in the FA Cup fourth round.

John Stones is likely to be once again available having shone for Manchester City in their Champions League win over Club Brugge, showing defensive stability and confidence whilst also recording two assists in the second-half of the match.

There is also likely to be the presence of Rodri in the dressing room for City once again, after the Spaniard reintegrated himself into the matchday set-up on a regularly basis earlier this month, despite being some way off a return to on-field action.