Arsenal title rivals Manchester City suffer injury blow ahead of new season as Oscar Bobb set for prolonged spell on the sidelines
Arsenal are prepared to finally win their first Premier League title since 2004 when the new season kicks off this weekend, but they will have to better Manchester City to have a chance of doing so.
Pep Guardiola and his side have won the English top-flight title in each of the last four seasons and are looking to bag another title in 2024-25.
Arsenal will hope that is not the case and the stars could align for the North London club this season.
Unfortunately for Man City, they have suffered a huge injury blow ahead of the season opener this weekend, with emerging star Oscar Bobb set to be out for several months after fracturing a bone in his leg.
The 21-year-old winger played 89 minutes in the Community Shield victory over Manchester United on Saturday, grabbing the assist which saw Man City score an 89th-minute equaliser, and he was tipped to play a huge role this season.
However, Guardiola has been dealt a huge blow, which could affect his chances of winning the title this term and hand Arsenal a boost.
No side had ever won four league titles in a row in 136 years of professional football in England before Man City set the record, but extending it to five titles in a row could now prove tricky with a key player set to miss months of action.
Arsenal will look to hit the ground running and give themselves another chance of mounting a stronger title challenge this term.
While some will think the injury to Bobb is inconsequential to the title race this season as he was not a regular member of the Man City squad last term, Guardiola will feel otherwise and would have been gutted by the news.
He could be forced to bring in another winger in the coming days but it could be too late to get in someone who understands how his side plays.
It is advantage Arsenal despite it still being early days, but a slow start to the season for Man City could work in their favour.
The Etihad Stadium club are already waiting on the sharpness of Rodri, Phil Foden, John Stones and Kyle Walker for the start of the season as the quartet are only set to return to training this week.
That and the latest injury blow look like a potential boost for Arsenal, and a resounding victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday is all the Gunners need to send a message to Man City and the rest of the league.
