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Mikel Arteta shares Granit Xhaka fitness update ahead of Man City vs Arsenal
Arsenal take on Manchester City at the Etihad tonight, and Mikel Arteta has shared the latest on Granit Xhaka and William Saliba’s availability.
The game this evening is the Gunners’ biggest of the campaign. It could completely define their whole season, and Arsenal fans are dreaming of a positive result.
However, Arteta’s latest fitness update wasn’t a positive one.
Mikel Arteta says Granit Xhaka is a doubt for Man City vs Arsenal
Arsenal’s strongest XI is among the best in the country, but unfortunately for Mikel Arteta, he has only been able to name that on six occasions all season.
The Gunners have had injury issues with one player or another throughout the campaign. Results went their way in the first six months, so it wasn’t really highlighted, but they’ve dropped points in each of the last three games, and player unavailability is one of the reasons.
William Saliba has missed all three games, while Oleksandr Zinchenko was out of the derby against West Ham. Granit Xhaka missed last week’s game against Southampton due to illness, and it looks like he’s not 100 per cent just yet.
After confirming that Saliba is ruled out, Arteta was asked about the ‘phenomenal‘ Swiss midfielder yesterday. The Spaniard revealed he’s a doubt for the game against Manchester City tonight.
“Granit has been out,” Arteta in his press conference.
“Hopefully, he will be able to train today but he’s still a doubt.”
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Arsenal used Fabio Vieira in Xhaka’s position against Southampton last Friday, and the Portuguese midfielder struggled at times.
He wasn’t physical enough in the middle of the park and Southampton’s pressing made it difficult for him to find spaces. The fact that he hadn’t played a lot of minutes recently didn’t help either.
Arteta saying Xhaka is a doubt is a concern ahead of Arsenal’s biggest game of the season. However, the Swiss international did train yesterday, and Charles Watts has claimed that he is likely to play.
If Xhaka starts and has a solid game in the middle of the park, Arsenal could get something out of the fixture tonight.
