Mikel Arteta provides injury update on 2 Arsenal stars ahead of Premier League title decider against Manchester City

Manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Granit Xhaka is a doubt for Arsenal's upcoming clash against Manchester City. Defender William Saliba has been ruled out once again, and the Spaniard is concerned that there has been no improvement in his condition.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the clash against Manchester City, Arteta was quizzed about the team news. He revealed that everyone except Saliba was fit, but cast doubt on Xhaka. He said:

"Granit has been out. Hopefully he'll be able to train today but he's still a doubt. The rest are OK."

The Arsenal manager was later asked about Saliba and disclosed that the Frenchman has not recovered from his injury. He is still confident that the centre-back will be back next week and 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 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."

Mikel Arteta needs William Saliba in his team

William Saliba's injury has been a big blow for Arsenal as they have collected just nine points from the five Premier League matches he has missed.

Mikel Arteta has had to use Rob Holding in his place and journalist David Ornstein reported that there are concerns that the Frenchman could miss the rest of the season.

He wrote in The Athletic:

"While Arteta gave a concerning update last week on Saliba's recovery from a back problem, there were suggestions that the centre-back could still be passed fit ahead of the enormous trip to City. However, recent assessments have failed to show sufficient progress and the defender — who has so far been replaced by Rob Holding — will not be available to face Pep Guardiola's team. Arsenal then welcome Chelsea to the Emirates Stadium on May 2 but the expectation is Saliba will also miss that contest amid increasing fears his campaign might be over."

The Spaniard will be up against his mentor Pep Guardiola this week in a must-win match.