Arteta on Injuries, Guardiola and Haaland Ahead of Arsenal vs Man City

Arsenal face title rivals Manchester City this Sunday (16:30 kick-off), with Mikel Arteta addressing the media ahead of one of the most anticipated fixtures of the season. Both sides come into the game off Champions League wins, and Arsenal are unbeaten in their last five against City a run Arteta could extend to a Premier League record against Man City, as no other manager has gone unbeaten against City more than five times.

Here’s all the key information from the press conference:

Injury news remains a concern. Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard and Ben White have not yet trained fully, with their chances of featuring dependent on Saturday’s session.

William Saliba continues to manage an issue of his own, and Arteta confirmed a late call will be made on his involvement.

On the challenge City pose, Arteta was clear about the level required: “It’s about winning again and creating another good moment for us. Consistency, competing against one of the best teams in the world, and a good test for us to see our level.”

Haaland, in particular, remains a threat. “He doesn’t need much space or time to generate big chances. Sometimes preventing the source is the best thing to do, and we have to do it again.”

The Arsenal boss was also asked about Pep Guardiola, under whom he worked before taking charge in north London. “For me, he’s the best coach in the world,” Arteta said. “The demands he puts on himself and those around him, his will to evolve and improve – it’s incredible.”

Last season’s rivalry between the two clubs went beyond the pitch, with heated celebrations and sharp comments from players on both sides. Arteta was asked about Myles Lewis-Skelly’s celebration in particular, but kept his response short: “Well that was done, that’s it, that’s part of it. The experience is to learn and grow as well, and we certainly learnt from that.”

With Arsenal’s bench looking stronger than ever, Arteta also stressed the importance of impact players in big matches. “You need that quality nowadays to unlock games,” he said. “We’re lucky because we have players who make an impact – now we need consistency.”

Away from the pitch, Arteta reacted to boardroom changes following the news of Tim Lewis stepping down and Richard Garlick taking over as CEO. “Tim has made a tremendous contribution for everything we’ve done over the last few years. Congratulations to Rich, it’s a massive role. Hopefully the new members of the board can help us be better and support the club.”

As Arsenal prepare for one of their toughest tests this season so far, Arteta’s message was simple: the focus is on finding another big result. “The preparation for the game will be to win, that’s for sure.”