Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola has played down Erling Haaland’s inability to complete the game against Aston Villa on Sunday.
The Norwegian striker assisted Ilkay Gundogan for Manchester City’s second goal but he was unable to return for the second half.
Pep has now provided the update on his injury.
“Erling has a knock; he was uncomfortable.”
“At half-time I spoke with the doctors. They said maybe with the score like it is we don’t take risks, and I agreed.”
Guardiola added: “If the score was tighter, then maybe I don’t do it. I think he is not injured but on Monday we are going to see.
“Hopefully he can be in for Wednesday. But if he is not ready or there is some risk, he is not going to play.”
Guardiola also hailed his players for taking advantage of Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Brentford.
“The team who are above us dropped points, which is why it was important to take this opportunity and finally close the gap,” Guardiola added.
“They have played one game less, so we know the distance there is – we count that we are still six points behind – but we will travel to London to try to play our game.
“I feel like we have improved a lot, especially in training sessions in the last week or 10 days. Everyone is so focused, which gives us the chance to be competitive. It does not assure you to win but, without focus that is impossible.”
Arsenal will welcome Manchester City to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.
