De Bruyne gives City injury scare for Arsenal clash

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has suggested Kevin De Bruyne is a doubt for Arsenal‘s visit to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday after the midfielder was forced off with an injury against Inter Milan.

De Bruyne was substituted at half-time during the 0-0 draw on Wednesday night. The Belgian picked up an injury late in the first half after trying to race onto a through ball from Jack Grealish.

“We’ll assess tonight and I’ll have more information tomorrow,” said Guardiola.

“The doctors said to me he wasn’t right to play but I was thinking about changing it at half-time anyway.

“When you are alone and lose easy balls, it’s a counterattack — it’s impossible to stop it. You have to be more precise. It happened especially on the left side with Kevin. We lost the ball without pressure and when that happens they can kill you.”

Despite starting their Champions League campaign with a draw, Guardiola insisted he was happy with City’s performance.

Inter had chances, but so did Guardiola’s team including two late headers from substitute Ilkay Gündogan.

“It’s at the start of the season,” said the City boss.

“The displays will be better, with more time we will be better. We played so good. I love my team, we are a fantastic team. Inter are a team that defends really well. They are the masters of defending and transitions as well.”

Inter’s best opportunity fell to former Manchester United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who blazed over the crossbar from inside the penalty area.

“They put in a giant performance,” said boss Simone Inzaghi.

“I asked them to play exactly as they did. We all know Manchester City and what they are capable of. We knew we had to pull out all the stops and play a great game and we did it. When we work well as a team we make it hard for everyone.”