Arsenal have been linked again with Crystal Palace captain Marc Guéhi as Manchester City consider a January response to recent defensive injuries. Joško Gvardiol suffered a fractured shinbone that required surgery and is set to be out for months rather than weeks. Rúben Dias also picked up a muscular problem in the same match and is expected to be sidelined for between four and six weeks.

City’s increased focus on a short-term defensive signing has intensified interest in Guéhi, who has just six months remaining on his Palace contract. That attention has prompted other admirers to reassert their claims. Arsenal’s long-standing interest is reported to remain active, and the club are expected to view Guéhi as a summer option, though no timetable for a move has been confirmed.

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has confirmed that the club will be forced to accept a suitable bid for their captain this month. Liverpool, who nearly secured Guéhi last summer, are named as keen but appear likely to only move for the defender when he becomes a free agent in July. Atlético Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona are also said to be considering approaches in the off-season.

Mikel Arteta is seeking every edge as Arsenal pursue their first Premier League title in 22 years and has stressed the club are “actively looking” at further additions this January. “The window is there. We’re Arsenal. Now, we have to be looking at it,” he declared last month.

That said, Arsenal’s immediate need at centre back is less acute. When fit, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães are automatic starters. The club recruited Piero Hincapié and Cristhian Mosquera in the summer to provide cover and flexibility; both are comfortable playing as deputies or at fullback. Natural fullbacks Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White and Jurriën Timber also have experience of lining up through the middle, giving Arsenal depth even if they pursue Guéhi in future windows.

Conor Bradley was forced from the pitch on a stretcher after a late knee twist, a sequence that has left Liverpool manager Arne Slot “fearing the worst.” The incident began when Arsenal’s No. 11 dropped the ball onto the prone defender and then attempted to shove him off the field to restart play. That shove ignited a mass brawl which further delayed the match.

Players from Liverpool reacted angrily at what was described as Martinelli’s disregard for a clearly injured opponent. Bradley was later seen leaving the stadium on crutches with his left knee in a brace; there was no suggestion he had been feigning the problem.

Slot was cautious on specifics but clear on the concern. “We have to wait on the scans if it’s that bad,” Slot acknowledged. “But it doesn’t look great if Conor has the injury which we fear he might have.”

The Liverpool manager tempered criticism of the Arsenal forward. “I don’t know Gabriel Martinelli, but he comes across as a nice guy,” he said. “I’m 100% sure that if he knew what the injury might be, that he would never do that,” Slot insisted. “I think the problem for him—and it’s a problem in general in football—is that there is so much time-wasting and players pretending that they are injured in the final parts of the game and during the game, that you can sometimes be annoyed if you want to try to score a goal that you think the player is time-wasting.

“You cannot ask Martinelli to think so clear in the 94th minute.”

Martinelli posted on social media to say he had contacted Bradley. “Conor and I have messaged and I have already apologised to him,” Martinelli wrote on Instagram. “I really didn’t understand he was seriously injured in the heat of the moment. I want to say I’m deeply sorry for reacting.

“Sending Conor all my best again for a quick recovery.”

Arsenal’s manager added a character reference for his player. “Knowing Gabi, if anybody knows Gabi, it’s an incredibly lovely guy and probably he didn’t realise what happened,” the Basque boss declared. “I hope that Conor is well. I will have a word with him now to understand that, but probably he didn’t recognise what happened.”

Broadcasters reacted strongly. Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville called the action unacceptable. “I am actually fuming with Martinelli, I don’t know how the Liverpool players didn’t go over and absolutely whack him to be honest with you and take a red card. Absolutely disgraceful, that,” he seethed. Roy Keane recalled a similar personal experience. “I didn’t like it,” the former Manchester United captain said of the Martinelli incident. “It happened to me when I was badly injured and a player stood over me, and it’s not good.

Arsenal and Manchester City sit six points apart at the top of the Premier League after the conclusion of gameweek 21. Arsenal then went into battle 24 hours later, hosting Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday, with the opportunity to extend their lead over City at the top of the table. It was a chance they could not take in a big game that lacked quality in the final third.

With Christmas been and gone, this is the stage of the season where it really starts to matter. Neither can afford to give an inch, with City playing catchup, waiting for Arsenal to slip, and the Gunners determined to hold their nerve to land a first league title in 22 years.

Both teams are competing in four different competitions. Following this week’s fixtures, neither is playing again in the league until January 17; each has FA Cup third round and Carabao Cup semi-final first leg commitments to come between now and then. The final two Champions League league phase matches are also interspersed with other competitions in the remainder of January, while Carabao Cup second legs are scheduled for the first week in February, making the calendar particularly congested outside of the Premier League.

Looking strictly at the league fixture list, Manchester City face the tougher run over the next month.

Arsenal fixtures (next five Premier League games)
– Nottingham Forest vs. Arsenal (Jan. 17)
– Arsenal vs. Man Utd (Jan. 25)
– Leeds Utd vs. Arsenal (Jan. 31)
– Arsenal vs. Sunderland (Feb. 7)
– Brentford vs. Arsenal (Feb. 12)

Man City fixtures (next five Premier League games)
– Man Utd vs. Man City (Jan. 17)
– Man City vs. Wolves (Jan. 24)
– Tottenham vs. Man City (Feb. 1)
– Liverpool vs. Man City (Feb. 8)
– Man City vs. Fulham (Feb. 11)

Pep Guardiola must prepare his side for three significant away tests in that sequence: Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Etihad Stadium should be a breeze, while Fulham at home is on the more favourable side of the coin, although not easy by any stretch.