Five Arsenal stars guaranteed to miss Man City as Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard calls confirmed

Mikel Arteta is keen to keep spirits high at Arsenal as the Gunners look to try and keep pace with Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.

"It's about winning again and creating another good moment for us," the Spaniard said ahead of the game against Pep Guardiola's side on Sunday. "Consistency, competing against one of the best teams, obviously, in the world. It's a good test for us to see our level as well."

The north Londoners may be without Ben White, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard against City, however. All three missed the win over Athletic Club in midweek and probably, out of the trio, White and Odegaard are more in contention than Saka to feature against Guardiola's team.

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Arteta said on Friday when asked about their fitness: "If there is a chance, it will be after tomorrow's session because they haven't done anything yet, so we'll have more information tomorrow."

He added: "Because everything has been modified so far for them and there's still a few things to clear and tomorrow we'll have more information whether they are part of the squad, they have a chance to be part of the squad or not."

William Saliba is in contention to start after returning to the bench against Athletic Club on Tuesday. "Let's see," Arteta said when asked if the Frenchman will come straight back into the side. "Obviously, he's been carrying an injury. He's done really well to be available for the last match. He's really pushing it, so we'll decide tomorrow what's the best start."

Mikel Merino and Viktor Gyokeres both picked up head injuries against the La Liga side but are alright to feature against city. "Yes, they're fine. They will be available," Arteta confirmed.

Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus remain out as they both recover from knee surgery, which means Arsenal could be without as many as five senior players for the game at Emirates Stadium. So, when looking at the official Arsenal website, the Gunners have 19 senior players available for selection for the game vs Man City. As per Premier League rules, a club is allowed to name a squad of 20 players for a Premier League match.

That means at least one youth player will likely be named on the bench. Max Dowman has been a regular member of the first-team set up this season and the 15-year-old has already made two appearances for the Gunners. The teenager did play 74 minutes for Arsenal U21s on Saturday, however, and even scored in the 3-2 win so it remains to be seen if he will be risked if one of Odegaard or White do not make the matchday squad.

Possible Arsenal squad for Man City: Raya, Kepa; Timber, Gabriel, Saliba, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly, Mosquera, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Rice, Norgaard, Merino, Eze, Nwaneri; Martinelli, Madueke, Gyokeres, Trossard, Dowman

Senior players unavailable for Man City: Jesus (knee injury), Saka (hamstring injury), Havertz (knee injury), Odegaard (shoulder injury - doubt), White (minor injury - doubt)