MANCHESTER: Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said his Ballon d’Or winner Rodri is a doubt for Sunday’s trip to Arsenal due to fitness concerns in what is sure to be a blockbuster clash.
City will arrive in North London on a wave of momentum after back-to-back wins over Manchester United and Napoli, but Rodri came off after an hour against the Serie A leaders in Thursday’s Champions League match, raising concerns about his fitness.
Guardiola said the Spain midfielder will be assessed ahead of Sunday’s game when asked if he would play.
“I don’t know yet, but he was so smart (to request a substitution against Napoli on Thursday). We’ll see, day-by-day,” Guardiola added.
“The training (on Wednesday), he didn’t feel comfortable, but said, ‘No, no, I will be fine, and he played extraordinarily. But, of course, he comes from a tough, tough injury, he has to be alert and we will decide on Sunday how he feels.”
The 29-year-old Spaniard spent most of last season sidelined after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament, and then suffered a groin injury at the Club World Cup.
While City and Arsenal are touted as potential title contenders, Guardiola cautioned that it was too early in the campaign for Sunday’s fixture to give any pointers.
“Listen, it’s the fifth game of the season, come on,” he said. “(Former Manchester United manager) Alex Ferguson said in the Premier League, you have to, after Boxing Day, stay close to the top four,” he added. “After that, you can think about it.
“In the six Premier Leagues (titles Guardiola has won at City), I think four or five, we were in December, January, behind Liverpool and behind Arsenal and at the end we won it.”
While City appear to be rediscovering their rhythm after they were rattled by early defeats to Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton, Guardiola said Arsenal will be a huge challenge on Sunday.
“Mikel (Arteta) is an extraordinary manager and they increased the squad for these (last) four, five transfer windows,” he said. “So it’s an unbelievable squad. It is one of the toughest opponents you can find right now in Europe.”
The Spaniard said his main concern was improving on last season’s third-place finish.
“To see the team growing up, that is only my concern right now, to see the team make a step forward every day,” he said. “We’re not going to win the Premier League on Sunday. We’re not going to lose the Premier League on Sunday.”