Raya is an injury doubt heading into this afternoon’s game
Arsenal are sweating on the fitness of goalkeeper David Raya ahead of their Premier League showdown against Manchester City this afternoon.
The Gunners were without their no1 shot stopper midweek against Girona with Mikel Arteta giving little away when asked for an injury update on Friday afternoon.
The Arsenal boss was ‘uncertain’ whether Raya would recover from his unspecified knock in time for the visit of the defending champions.
Arteta was able to welcome back Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino midweek after the pair missed the win at Wolves last weekend.
Odegaard did not make the trip after being struck down by illness while Merino picked up a small knock ahead of the weekend. Both trained alongside their teammates ahead of the trip to Spain and played the full 90 minutes in the 2-1 victory on Wednesday night.
Myles Lewis-Skelly was the recipient of a controversial red card against Wolves on Saturday and was initially expected to miss out on Sunday’s clash as part of his three-match suspension. That red was overturned this week however after Arsenal’s successful appeal with the teenager in line to keep his place in the side.
Riccardo Calafiori however is also in contention to slot into that left-back role.
Elsewhere, Ben White is closing in on a return but has not resumed first-team training yet. Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu remain sidelined.
After their wretched run to end 2024, City have now won four of their last five in the league.
Looking ahead to the trip to Arsenal, the City boss revealed Oscar Bobb is close to making his return after a lengthy layoff although the trip down south will likely come too soon for him.
How Arsenal could line up this weekend…
Jeremy Doku will miss the clash at the Emirates having missed his side’s last three games. Ruben Dias is also sidelined having limped off in the defeat to Paris Saint-Germain with City yet to disclose a timeline for his return.
How City could line up this weekend…
Nathen Ake, limited to just seven league starts this season, is also absent but John Stones is available once again after his recent injuries.
Abdukodir Khusanov endured a baptism of fire against Chelsea on Saturday but Omar Marmoush made a strong case for keeping his place in the side with a promising debit against the Blues.
Predicted Arsenal XI to face Man City
Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Odegaard, Partey, Rice, Martinelli, Havertz, Trossard
Predicted Man City XI to face Chelsea
Ederson, Nunes, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol, Silva, Kovacic, de Bruyne, Foden, Haaland, Marmoush
Where to watch Arsenal vs Man City? Kick-off time and TV channel
Arsenal vs Man City kicks off at 4:30pm on Sunday 2 February.
Live coverage is available on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event with a live stream available on the Sky Go app and NOW TV.
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