Pep Guardiola concerned by fresh Man City injury after Arsenal win

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola spoke about the problems with City’s run-in after beating Arsenal in the Premier League

Pep Guardiola will wait to find out the extent of a groin injury for Rodri after the midfielder had to be substituted towards the end of their 2-1 win. The Spaniard, who suffered a serious injury in this fixture last season, was excellent for most of the match before pulling up at the end and immediately asking to be taken off.

That didn’t stop Rodri from running back out to the edge of the dugout to give his teammates extra instructions as he looked to help them see out seven minutes of injury time against the league leaders, but it may rule him out of some upcoming matches. City are in action on Wednesday at Turf Moor as their schedule gets busy again after a few weeks with just one match in them.

As much as Guardiola said the victory over Arsenal gives the players ‘hope’ that they can beat Mikel Arteta’s side to another Premier League title, he was cautious for the six games they have left to play – not least because they are still behind on points and goal difference. An absence of any length of time for Rodri would further complicate City’s run-in as they look for a perfect finish.

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“What happened if Havertz scored with a header in the six-yard box in front of Donnarumma?” he said. “What is the message? We don’t have personality, we cannot defend our goal…the margins are there. They have a post, we had a post for Erling. The mentality has always been there except last season.

“Sometimes win, sometimes there, but the margin at this level is Madrid three times arrive in the first half and three goals. There are many things you cannot control and we were not at our best because I give a lot of credit to our opponent.

“We are alive, we are there, everybody is pushing and now everybody will make a contribution when we play every three days. I don’t know how long Rodri will be out. The doctors will make checks later tonight or in the morning.”