Arsenal suffer double injury blow ahead of Man City fixture

Arsenal will be without defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos for the trip to Manchester City next weekend, while Laurent Koscielny is a major doubt.  The duo were injured in the FA Cup defeat to Manchester United on Friday, and Arsenal confirmed that Papastathopoulos will be out for up to four weeks after falling awkwardly on his ankle.  Koscielny was injured in a collision with Romelu Lukaku, with Arsenal saying he has 'bruising and soft tissue swelling to face and jaw'. The Frenchman is being reviewed on a daily basis.  Arsenal already have Hector Bellerin and Rob Holding absent with long-term injuries, leaving a threadbare set of defenders to negotiate their upcoming fixtures.  The injuries could force Arsenal into the loan market before the transfer window closes this week, but the Gunners face Cardiff on Tuesday so may be forced to field a makeshift back line against the Bluebirds.  After that is a trip to the Etihad, where Arsenal will face a City side that have scored 29 goals since they last conceded. Pep Guardiola's free-scoring side have scored 31 goals this month across just seven games.  City have won their last four games with Arsenal, scoring 11 times in the process and letting in just one. In fact, City are unbeaten against Arsenal in their last six league meetings.  Before the visit of the Gunners, City face Newcastle on Tuesday. The Arsenal game is then followed by a rescheduled trip to Everton and big game against Chelsea in the space of seven days.  More Man City top stories