Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka remains a doubt for the Manchester City game, Mikel Arteta has confirmed.
Last Friday night's 3-3 draw at home to bottom-of-the-table Southampton marked the first time this season that the Switzerland international has failed to make a Premier League matchday squad as he missed out due to illness and was replaced in the starting line-up by Fabio Vieira.
With the Gunners set to train at London Colney this afternoon before heading off to Manchester, Arteta is hopeful that Xhaka will be able to take part in the session before deciding whether to hand the midfielder an immediate recall: "Granit has been out. Hopefully he’ll be able to train today but he’s still a doubt," the Spaniard said in the pre-match press conference." The rest are OK."
READ MORE: Arsenal news conference LIVE: Mikel Arteta on Saliba, Xhaka return, title race and Man City
Meanwhile, Arteta also delivered an update on William Saliba. The Frenchman has been out of action since limping off during the Europa League round of 16 second leg tie against Sporting CP last month, subsequently missing the last five games in a row with a back injury.
When speaking ahead of the Southampton game, the Arsenal manager revealed that this week was shaping up to be an important one for the central defender but has now ruled out that possibility by confirming reports that the 21-year-old won't be available for selection.
"There’s not been a real improvement unfortunately on him, so we’re still waiting," Arteta added. "We’re still hopeful, but another week has gone by and he hasn’t been able to train with the team. "At the moment we don’t have him. We are preparing the game without him and probably the next game will come too soon as well. We have to go week by week at the moment."
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