Arsenal issue Bukayo Saka injury update as four key stars wait on Man City green light

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Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Arsenal will be without Bukayo Saka against Manchester City – but he is hopeful Noni Madueke will be fit to feature. Saka hasn’t featured for the Gunners since the Carabao Cup final defeat to Pep Guardiola ’s side last month.

And although the winger did join the England squad last month, he left the camp after just one day, and he has missed three Arsenal matches since then. And Arteta has now confirmed his side will once again be without the 24-year-old for Sunday’s showdown at the Etihad.

"Bukayo is out. That is for sure," the Gunners boss confirmed when asked about Saka. Before he added: "Hopefully he recovers very soon because he is a tremendous player. He is starting to do some stuff, let's see how quickly he can be with us."

But when it came to Madueke, Arteta delivered a much more positive update. Madueke went down requiring treatment midway through the second-half of Arsenal's Champions League tie against Sporting CP on Wednesday night.

It soon became clear that the winger couldn’t continue, and TV cameras captured him limping off the pitch while being assisted by members of the Arsenal medical team. But when asked for an update, Arteta said: "We have another training session tomorrow. It didn't look that bad after the game, and he is someone who pushes through pain. But we will have to wait and see."

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Martin Odegaard, Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber have been sidelined in recent weeks, and when asked about the trio, Arteta said: "Yeah, we will try again, some players are quite close, but the turnaround is short. We will try tomorrow."

Odegaard provided an update on his fitness in his column for the official club programme for the Sporting game, saying: "I had to go off during the second half of that game in Portugal last week, feeling my knee, which is why I missed the game at the weekend.

"I caught it a little bit against Sporting, but hopefully it shouldn’t be too bad. I’m desperate to get back as soon as possible because this is the crucial period of the season, in the Premier League and Champions League."

The Gunners have a six-point lead over their nearest rivals, but Pep Guardiola's men have a game in hand on Arteta's side. But Arsenal have suffered from a wobble in recent weeks, losing the Carabao Cup final, crashing out of the FA Cup and suffering defeat to Bournemouth in their most recent Premier League outing.

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However, victory over Sporting on aggregate keeps the Gunners' hopes of a European and domestic double alive. And speaking ahead of the game, City star Antoine Semenyo said: "Our form over the last couple of games has been good and we’re playing probably the best football we’ve played in the second half of the season.

"So it’s a good time to play them, I guess. Where they’ve dipped in form, we’ve picked up form, so it’ll be interesting."

Before he added in an interview on In The Mixer, brought to you by Sky Bet: "We were excited, to be honest. I feel like we're ready for the game Sunday. It's gonna be a big one. Title-deciding, maybe? I don't know.

"But it's gonna be a tough game, don't get me wrong. They've obviously lost against Bournemouth, but they're still top of the table. We're still chasing them. So we have to give them respect in that sense."

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