Pep Guardiola has ruled Manchester City defenders Kyle Walker and John Stones out of the enormous title fight against Arsenal on Sunday. Both players were called up by England over the international break.
“Ederson is much better,” the City boss said of his squad’s fitness. “Kyle and John are out.” Ederson missed City’s last game before the break following an injury picked up against Liverpool in the 1-1 draw at Anfield earlier this month.
Walker was subbed off by Gareth Southgate early on in England’s defeat to Brazil last week. Stones had to exit the field in the opening stages against Belgium just several days later. Guardiola confirmed that Manuel Akanji was fit after injury problems of his own in recent weeks.
There will be a nervy wait for City and Arsenal ahead of the game though with Kevin de Bruyne a doubt still. “It has been a tough season for him with injuries,” Guardiola explained on Thursday. “He has been out for a long time. He trained really well yesterday. We will see what he does in the next few days.”
De Bruyne was not part of the Belgium squad during the break and didn’t play against Newcastle before either. The influential midfielder also missed the reverse fixture at the Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta has a series of worries himself heading into the game with several key members of his group returning to the club during the break. None of Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Magalhaes, Bukayo Saka, Thomas Partey or Gabriel Jesus played for their country in the past fortnight.
