In a midweek goalless draw at Inter Milan, the Belgian captain, who enjoys playing against Arsenal, injured his groin. Wednesday’s Champions League draw at the Etihad Stadium saw De Bruyne’s latest fitness issue in the 43rd minute.
The 33-year-old tried to continue but was substituted at halftime, with Pep Guardiola maintaining mum on his fitness.
De Bruyne’s fitness vs Arsenal?
The visitors will benefit from the offensive midfielder missing the Gunners match. According to the Mirror, his injury is not significant, but City don’t want to risk losing him longer by playing him.
The hosts will be hurt since De Bruyne loves playing against Arsenal, winning 14 and losing four of 21 games against them. One of those defeats was inside 90 minutes, and another is not officially counted.
It was on penalties in the 2023 Community Shield, where KDB scored and assisted for Arsenal. With eight goals and four assists in 15 Premier League matches, De Bruyne has scored the most against any opponent.
City dominated his second spell in England’s top division as Arsenal struggled. In April 2023, De Bruyne scored twice and assisted in a 4-1 win over Mikel Arteta’s club in a title match.
Arteta’s first Premier League win over City and Guardiola during De Bruyne’s injury six months later was expected. In his last visit to the Etihad, a goalless draw in March, the Spaniard set up a gameplan to shackle the former Chelsea star.
Even though Arteta was club captain at the Emirates, De Bruyne’s sole Premier League loss to Arsenal was in his debut match as a Man City player. KDB started at right-midfield for the Gunners’ 2-1 triumph in December 2015 due to the latter’s ailment.
The following summer, Arteta retired and became a coach at Man City, unintentionally building Arsenal’s future nemesis with De Bruyne. With Kyle Walker out of favor, De Bruyne has led City much of the season. Ruben Dias captained the second half against Inter, with Ilkay Gundogan likely to play at No.8.
