Pep Guardiola gives Kevin De Bruyne injury update after Man City win over Arsenal

Pep Guardiola has revealed Kevin De Bruyne was replaced late on against Arsenal with a slight ‘niggle’.

The midfielder was outstanding on Wednesday and played a pivotal role in Manchester City’s 4-1 Premier League victory, one that leaves them in pole position to win the title. De Bruyne linked excellently with Erling Haaland all night and regularly bypassed the Norwegian in the final third.

De Bruyne scored two goals after breaking beyond the Arsenal backline, while his cross was headed in by John Stones in the latter stages of the first half. Speaking after the game, Guardiola described De Bruyne as ‘unstoppable’ but revealed he asked to come off in the latter stages of the game.

“Kevin told me he had some niggles in his legs and asked for the substitution,” revealed the City boss.

On De Bruyne’s link with Haaland, Guardiola added: “The game belongs to them. I didn’t teach how they find each other in training. Footballers are more natural than you expect. Erling knows when Kevin has the ball.

“Kevin is a master of the assist, with or without Erling. Erling scores goals all the time with or without Kevin. But together, with space behind, they are so dangerous.

“You cannot be in the box because Arsenal play so high. When teams defend deep he will be in the box. How do you want to play? Show me how the opponent defends.

“We struggled a lot there, we adjusted something and I said you have to run in behind. You can use a false nine – Gabriel [Jesus] in the past, or Erling – both have the pace to move in behind.”