Man City drop series of Erling Haaland clues amid doubts over striker's fitness ahead of Arsenal clash

Manchester City appear to have dropped a series of clues that Erling Haaland could be fit to take on Arsenal in a huge Premier League clash tonight.

City can go level on points with the Gunners at the top of the table with a win, although they have played a game more than their nearest title rivals.

Pep Guardiola's side have not topped the table since matchweek two, with Arsenal leading the way since then.

But their lead was reduced last week, with Mikel Arteta's side drawing 1-1 with Brentford at the Emirates Stadium. The following day, City beat Aston Villa 3-1, with Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez getting on the scoresheet in the first half.

However, there was a major concern for Guardiola's side, as Haaland had to be withdrawn at half-time due to a suspected thigh injury.

The Norwegian is the division's top scorer this season, with a sensational 25 goals in 21 appearances, and would be a big miss for City against Arsenal if he were not to be passed fit.

He did take part in the recovery training session on Monday, but Guardiola refused to be drawn on whether Haaland was fit enough to play against Arsenal, having previously admitted that if he wasn't fully fit, he would not be played.

But, according to City's social media posts, there is a chance that Haaland will be available.

Man City 'drop Haaland clues' ahead of Arsenal clash

On Tuesday evening, City published a player interview ahead of the Arsenal fixture, with Haaland the star in the hotseat.

And during the interview, the striker said: "Right now, we cannot think too much about what might happen in May, and I think we have to take it game by game. But win the game on Wednesday, that is my goal."

Furthermore, on Wednesday morning, the club's Twitter account posted a photo which appeared to show Haaland in training before the Arsenal fixture.

😁💪 pic.twitter.com/sn0nh9Lh0F

— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 14, 2023

Should the striker be available to take on the Gunners, he will be looking to continue his perfect record against them.

In what is admittedly a very small sample size (as per Transfermarkt), Haaland won the only fixture he has played against Arsenal - the 1-0 win in the FA Cup fourth round at the Etihad Stadium last month.