Bukayo Saka will be unavailable, while Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz will return to the Arsenal starting lineup when they take on Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday.

Arsenal will be desperate to return to winning ways and take charge of the Premier League title race again when they lock horns with Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday evening. Mikel Arteta has a new injury concern to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.

Noni Madueke may be the latest absentee after sustaining a knee injury in the UEFA Champions League clash with Sporting CP earlier this week. The English international accompanies Mikel Merino (foot) and Bukayo Saka (hamstring) in the treatment room.

Additionally, Arteta has been sweating over the fitness of Martin Odegaard, Riccardo Calafiori, and Jurrien Timber. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, the Spanish tactician provided fitness updates on Saka and Madueke.

The Arsenal manager said, “Bukayo is out, that’s for sure. He’s just starting to do some stuff, so let’s see that progression, how quickly we can go through it, and then wait, but at the moment it’s not about that.”

“We have another training session tomorrow. He [Madueke] didn’t look that bad after the game, and he was quite positive. He’s a player who pushes through pain, so I’m hopeful that he can be available, but we have to wait and see if he’s able to train tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, during his press conference, Arteta also discussed his team’s injury woes this season. The Arsenal boss said, “We’ve had to cope with that [injuries] all season and if you look back at the stages and the players that we’ve missed for big, big, big periods and where we are, it’s not normal where we are.”

“But we have coped with that because of our mentality and the solutions that we find, the way the players have stepped up in this moment. And we are where we are. We are still very strong and we will remain the same way.”

David Raya is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Arsenal lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Manchester City on Sunday. The backline will feature Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Piero Hincapie. However, Cristhian Mosquera will start as the right-back if Timber is not fit enough to feature from the get-go.

As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice in the double pivot. Eberechi Eze will reprise the no. 10 role, with Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus being the two wide attackers. Finally, Kai Havertz will lead the line for the away side against Manchester City. So, Viktor Gyokeres will be among the backup options on the bench for the Gunners.

Predicted Arsenal XI: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Rice; Martinelli, Eze, Jesus; Havertz