It appears Arsenal striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is yet to overcome the calf problem that ruled him out of action against Everton. He has therefore been ruled out action against Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
Aubameyang has not been able to replicate last season’s form, scoring just five goals in all competitions this season.
“Auba is not fit for [Tuesday]. He will have another scan in the next few days and we will see how quickly we can get him back in the team,” said Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.
Carabao Cup: How will Arsenal cope without Aubameyang as calf injury rules the striker out of action?
This means Arsenal have to look for a way to survive without their main striker. However, he won’t be missed that much as he has not been scoring.
Unfortunately, the injury is coming a few days after ending his goal drought against Southampton during the last midweek. He could have helped Arsenal end their drought as well as the Gunners have lost five of their last seven Premier League games, which leaves them 15th in the table with 14 points.
The quality of the Gabonese can’t be questioned but things are not going smoothly for him at Arsenal after signing a lucrative deal.
However, Arsenal has done well so far in the Carabao Cup while having their worst start to a season since 1974-75. En route to the last eight of the competition, Mikel Arteta’s men had beaten Leicester and Liverpool.
Having led Arsenal to another FA Cup last season, which became his first as a manager, Arteta believes a win against City could set them up for more trophy success this term.
“This is what we want to use it for because it’s a competition we want to try to win.
“We had two difficult opponents, with Leicester and Liverpool. We managed to beat them both and now we are playing at home and we are one step closer to Wembley,” Arteta added.
Meanwhile, City is in good form at the moment. Guardiola will be looking forward to getting another victory against his former assistant to extend their unbeaten run to nine games in all competitions.
In their last nine games, City has conceded just one goal. However, they have struggled to convert chances at the other end in recent games with just two goals scored in their last three.
This is an opportunity to prove that Arsenal can still win something this season as winning this tournament guarantees them a place in Europe next season at least. First, they must defeat Man City. That could spur them to focus more on the Premier League and end their bad run.
Can Arteta smile against his former boss again? The outcome of tonight’s encounter will see who laughs last.
