Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Kyle Walker and John Stones will miss a crucial Premier League clash with Arsenal.
Kyle Walker suffered a hamstring injury during England’s friendly with Brazil last weekend, while John Stones suffered an adductor problem in a 2-2 draw against Belgium.
Ahead of Sunday’s match, Guardiola confirmed Kevin De Bruyne, Ederson, Jack Grealish, and Manuel Akanji are all expected to be fit.
“Ederson is much better but Kyle and John are out, it is what it is,” Guardiola told a news conference on Friday. “For Kyle it will be more tougher than John (in terms of recovery), but I don’t know for how many games he will be out.
“Kevin is such an important player. It has been a tough season for him with injuries, being out for a long time. He trained really well yesterday [on Thursday] so we will see what we’re going to do in the next days.“
Arsenal is at the top of the Premier League table on goal difference from Liverpool and one point ahead of Man City.
“It’s good to be here and in contention for three titles after what happened last season,” Guardiola added. “We made incredible work.”
“Right now every game is so important. If we are able to do it (against Arsenal), the next game will be important as well.
“We played really good the last month but the international break, the first game after you think what will happen? Yesterday we trained good and we have two more training sessions and will be ready for it again.
Manchester City won all three games against Arsenal last season, but Mikel Arteta’s side beat City on penalties in the Community Shield and earned a 1-0 win at the Emirates in October.
Guardiola said: “Same manager, same players.
“They control many aspects of the game and every time they are better and better.
“When you have consistency in terms of ideas and the same manager, you always improve. If you change manager and players, it is more difficult.”
