Mikel Arteta was unable to confirm whether David Raya would be fit to play for Arsenal against Manchester City at the weekend. With a second player also confirmed to be missing for the match having not yet trained.

Arteta faced the media in the build-up to a pivotal Premier League clash with Manchester City with the chance to open a nine-point gap on the champions while hoping to close in on Liverpool, who travel to Bournemouth.

Despite the January transfer window concluding in the coming days, the focus for many fans outside of who might sign was on the latest regarding David Raya. The Spain international missed the match with Girona in midweek despite travelling with the squad for the match.

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Arteta said before and after the game that he couldn’t play and was "not fit" but would provide little clarity on what the issue was nor whether he would make the match with Man City this weekend. He was again asked for further clarification in the pre-match presser.

"Uncertain, we have another session tomorrow," he said when asked. When pressed on what the specific issue regarding Raya was he added: "It's a muscular issue, we will have to wait and see."

Arteta confirmed that Ben White - who has been missing for a while having recovered from a knee procedure but had been suggested to be closing on a return - would not be back just yet. he said: "Ben is definitely out, he hasn't trained with us yet."

Arsenal take on Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium at 16:30 GMT. Build-up and match coverage will be available in our football.london matchday blog from four hours before kick-off.