Kevin De Bruyne is a major doubt to lead Manchester City out in their Premier League showdown against Arsenal this weekend.
The Belgian captain, who loves playing against the Gunners, suffered a groin injury during a goalless draw against Inter Milan in midweek.
De Bruyne was unable to play through the pain barrier against InterGetty
De Bruyne picked up his latest fitness issue in the 43rd minute of Wednesday’s Champions League stalemate at the Etihad Stadium.
The 33-year-old attempted to continue but was then brought off at half-time, with Pep Guardiola remaining coy over his fitness.
Will De Bruyne be fit to face Arsenal?
The attacking midfielder is set to miss out on facing the Gunners, which will come as a major boost to the visitors.
According to the Mirror, his injury is not considered serious, but City are unwilling to risk potentially losing him for longer by playing him.
It’ll come as a blow to the hosts, as De Bruyne relishes playing Arsenal, winning 14, and losing just four of his 21 games against them.
Only one of those defeats occurred within 90 minutes, and another one is technically not even counted among official stats.
That’s due to it being on penalties in the 2023 Community Shield – a game KDB also added to his Arsenal goal contributions with an assist.
In 15 Premier League meetings, De Bruyne has scored eight times and laid on a further four – the most that he’s registered against any single opponent.
For the majority of his second stint in England’s top flight, City have dominated while Arsenal became a faltering force.
However, De Bruyne has also turned it on in a title showdown between the two teams, bagging two goals and an assist in a 4-1 victory over Mikel Arteta‘s side in April 2023.
De Bruyne has played Arsenal 15 times in the Premier League
It was no surprise Arteta’s first Premier League victory over City and Guardiola came while De Bruyne was injured six months later.
The Spaniard did set up a gameplan to shackle the former Chelsea star during his last visit to the Etihad – a goalless draw in March.
Ironically, De Bruyne’s only Premier League defeat to Arsenal still remains in his first-ever meeting as a Man City player – when Arteta was club captain at the Emirates.
The latter’s own injury issues saw him sidelined for the Gunners’ 2-1 win in December 2015, with KDB starting in a right-midfield role.
The following summer Arteta had hung up his boots and linked up with De Bruyne after joining Man City as a coach – unwittingly to help build Arsenal’s future bogeyman.
With current club captain Kyle Walker out of favour, De Bruyne has also been sporting the City armband for the majority of this season.
Ruben Dias took over the skipper duties for the second-half against Inter, with Ilkay Gundogan likely to fill in the advanced No.8 position.
