Pep Guardiola dealt major Man City injury blow ahead of clash vs Arsenal in the Premier League

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Arsenal have learned of a fresh injury update ahead of their crucial Premier League clash against Manchester City.

The Gunners are preparing to battle City at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon in a fixture between two of the favourites for the Premier League title.

In a duel between first against second of the previous two seasons, Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola will both be missing key players. 

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is ruled out after sustaining a significant ankle injury on international duty, seeing Arteta’s adaptability come into play. 

• READ MORE: The nine games that Martin Odegaard will now miss for Arsenal as injury timeline revealed

Kevin De Bruyne set to miss Manchester City clash with Arsenal

Manchester City were in action on Wednesday night in the Champions League, where the Premier League side drew 0-0 with Inter Milan.

In a repeat of the 2023 final the two sides went head to head, with neither prevailing to earn three points.

Guardiola’s side walked away with one point and a major injury concern, as Kevin De Bruyne was forced to withdraw to injury. 

With Arsenal set to face City on Sunday, the Mirror have reported that De Bruyne will not be in action for the hosts. 

The report stated that the Belgian is ‘understood to be a major doubt’ for the fixture, with the understanding that City are ‘unwilling to risk’ fielding the 33-year-old with a thought to their schedule.

It’s added that Ilkay Gundogan is ‘likely’ to replace De Bruyne, with Phil Foden also in the running to make the starting XI.

Manchester City clash crucial for Arsenal

After losing to City over the 2022/23 campaign by an aggregate score of 7-2, Arsenal significantly closed the gap on the Cityzens last season.

The Gunners held Guardiola’s side to a 0-0 draw at the Etihad and beat the champions 1-0 at the Emirates, taking four points from City to show a vast improvement. 

There’s no time better than the present for Arsenal to finally seal an away win against City, having not won at the Etihad since January 2015, when Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud were on the scoresheet.

After starting the season impressively, Arteta’s side can show that they’re ready to usurp their title rivals this term, with De Bruyne’s absence a significant miss for the hosts.