Arsenal confirm double injury blow for Man City fixture as Mikel Arteta plays down title narrative

Arsenal will be without William Saliba and Granit Xhaka against Manchester City on Wednesday night.

The Gunners head up north for a colossal clash in the race for the Premier League title. Arsenal's three consecutive draws have opened up the door for City, who are five points behind Mikel Arteta's side with two games in hand.

The visitors were without the key defender and midfielder in last Friday's 3-3 draw with Southampton - and Arteta does not expect to have them back in time to take on City. Xhaka missed the Saints match through illness, while Saliba has been struggling with a lower back injury for six weeks.

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On Saliba, Arteta said: "There’s not been a real improvement unfortunately, on him, so we’re still waiting. We’re still hopeful, but another week has gone by and he hasn’t been able to play. At the moment we don’t have him and we're preparing this game without him. Probably the next game will come too soon as well."

And while many view the Etihad encounter as the crucial game in the race for the Premier League trophy, Arteta has played down that talk.

He added: "We wanted to close that gap as much as we could and we’re toe-to-toe with them. We knew we had to go to the Etihad. Is it going to define the season? The answer is no. We are working on their threats and their weaknesses. We know what they are.

"With City it starts with the goalkeeper; just focus on us. We know what they can do. They can do so many things that you have to be adaptable. We knew from the beginning that City was the team to beat, with Liverpool, because of what those teams have done."

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