Pep Guardiola drops strong Erling Haaland fitness hint ahead of Manchester City’s clash with Arsenal and Nottingham Forest

Manchester City have given a strong indication of Erling Haaland’s fitness ahead of games against Arsenal and Nottingham Forest.

The Premier League champions travel to Arsenal tonight (Wednesday) for a crucial top-of-the-table clash before travelling to Forest on Saturday afternoon. Pep Guardiola’s side, who have a number of fitness concerns, will have a short turnaround.

One of those revolves around City’s 25-goal leading scorer Haaland, who was taken off at halftime against Aston Villa on Sunday. The Norwegian took a few knocks during the game and required treatment after colliding with Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez.

Guardiola was cautious about his fitness after the game, admitting that he might not have taken the Norwegian off at halftime if City hadn’t been 3-0 up. In his pre-Arsenal press conference on Tuesday, he was cautious again when asked about Haaland.

“We have practise this afternoon. “Right now, I’m not sure,” he explained. “Yesterday [Monday] was about recovering from Aston Villa. That’s all there is to it.”

However, City fans were given hope that Haaland would be involved at the Emirates and the City Ground after the club posted pictures of the player in training on social media on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, ahead of the weekend, Forest fans have shared their thoughts on Haaland, with one joking on NottinghamshireLive’s Reds Facebook page: “Play him v Arsenal then rest him for the weekend lol, in fact rest the whole side and play your under 12s, we might grab a draw then.”

“Best not to risk him, IMO,” said another. “It doesn’t matter how many Man City players are injured, they gave us a battering the last time around, so it’s not going to make any difference really,” a third added.