Arteta gets big boost as key player returns for Man City clash
Whilst confirming William Saliba's absence, the Spaniard refused to reveal if the Gunners' vice-captain was in line for a swift return after missing the 3-3 draw at home to Southampton
Arsenal need their best legs at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, if they are to stamp their feet on the floor in the fierce title race against Manchester City.
Now, it turns out Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was playing his cards close to his chest with regard to Granit Xhaka's availability against Manchester City.
Whilst confirming William Saliba's absence, the Spaniard refused to reveal if the Gunners' vice-captain was in line for a swift return after missing the 3-3 draw at home to Southampton last Friday night - the first Premier League game he has sat out this season - because of illness.
"Granit has been out," Arteta said in the pre-match press conference. "Hopefully, he'll be able to train today but he's still a doubt." Interestingly in the training images released by Arsenal later in the day, there was no sign of Xhaka which immediately cast even further doubt on his involvement at the Etihad Stadium.
However, footage of the Arsenal squad arriving in Manchester has been uploaded to Twitter by @TheJesusZone and Xhaka was spotted stepping off the team bus and this would imply that the Switzerland international looks set to be named in the matchday squad.
In addition, the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka, Thomas Partey, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Benjamin White, Rob Holding, Aaron Ramsdale, Kieran Tierney, Leandro Trossard, Jorginho and captain Martin Odegaard can be seen in the video clip with the north London outfit nearly at full strength.
So even though it appeared that Xhaka's status for the Man City game was up in the air following Arteta's comments, the fact he has made the trip indicates that he should be fine to take his place on the substitutes bench, even if he's not deemed fit enough to start the huge Premier League title showdown.
This particular scenario means that highly-rated youngster Reuell Walters - who has provided defensive cover in the absence of Saliba of late - drops out of the matchday squad altogether having been an unused substitute against Crystal Palace, Leeds United, Liverpool, West Ham United and Southampton.
