Nathan Ake‘s goal in the second half gave the Citizens a 1-0 victory over the Gunners at the Etihad on Friday night. It was a huge victory for Pep Guardiola’s side and this could be a booster for their upcoming matches. But Stones was the one player criticized by Pep Guardiola.
In the first of three encounters between the two teams this season, it was a significant victory for City. They defeated their Premier League title rivals.
Aymeric Laporte took Stones’ place as he was forced to leave the game with a hamstring injury just before halftime.
While Pep Guardiola claims he is unsure of the extent of Stones injury. One may anticipate that the 28-year-old will miss at least the next three matches.
Due to the fact that City is trying to close the five-point gap to Mikel Arteta’s team, players may be forced to miss crucial league trips to Tottenham and Arsenal.
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Pep Guardiola Criticizes Stones for injury
Pep Guardiola also seemed to be taking a go at Stones for the injury. He implied that he wasn’t well enough to start the match.
“Today he was not ready, I saw it in the first minutes,”
the manager said.
“Maybe he was tired, I don’t know, but he was not ready and that’s why when this happens you get injured.”
Fortunately for Pep Guardiola, his City club is still generally injury-free. Phil Foden, Stones’ colleague from England, being the only one still sidelined due to a foot issue.
With the draw scheduled for Monday night and games to be played on March 1st, City has officially advanced to the fifth round of the FA Cup.
But their matchups against Arsenal in the Premier League are still left. We might see the Gunners take their FA Cup revenge.
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