The Gunners travel to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday in a must-win fixture but the league leaders could be without two key players.

Wednesday is do or die for Arsenal and their title hopes. After drawing three consecutive games in a row, the Premier League leaders now travel to Manchester City on Wednesday knowing that anything but a win could tremendously shift the title race in the Cityzens' favor.

Arteta's league leaders are five points ahead of Guardiola's men but the North London giants have played two games extra. This means that even if this Etihad Stadium tie were to end in a draw, City will still win the league if they triumph in every other remaining fixture, including those two games in hand.

Unfortunately, not only will Arsenal have to pull off their first away win against the English giants in the Premier League in eight years, but they might have to achieve this in the absence of two key players.

The first player is William Saliba, which isn't surprising, as the Frenchman has been sidelined with a back injury for over a month after hurting himself in the UEFA Europa League showdown with Sporting CP.

It was revealed on Tuesday that the highly-rated center-back, who had been hopeful of returning, hadn't made much progress after suffering "structural damage" to his lower back and is likely to miss the remainder of the season.

While Arteta did not reveal whether the 22-year-old will be out for the rest of the campaign, the Spaniard confirmed that Saliba will miss the upcoming clashes with Manchester City and Chelsea, which is a huge blow given how leaky Arsenal's defense has become, conceding seven goals in their last three games.

"There's not been real improvement on him. No news, unfortunately. We are still waiting," the Spaniard said in his press conference for the Manchester City game.

"We are still hopeful but obviously, it's another week that has gone by and he hasn't been able to train with the team."

And it didn't end there. Mikel also revealed that Granit Xhaka is a doubt for the game after missing Friday's draw at home to Southampton due to illness. The manager stated that the Swiss midfielder could train ahead of this tie but he isn't out of the woods just yet.

The former Borussia M'gladbach man has been one of the most reliable Arsenal players this season and has been a force to be reckoned with, both in defense and in the final third, racking up five goals and five assists this season. In his absence, the Gunners conceded three against the Saints and will thus need Xhaka, one of their dressing room leaders, back on the pitch as soon as possible.

Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how Arteta sets up his side for Wednesday's game. After three consecutive setbacks, the calls for a tactical or personnel tweak have hit an all-time high. 

Will the Spaniard shift to a back three? Will Thomas Partey be shifted to the right-back role and Ben White to the center-back position? Will Jorginho be reintroduced back into the lineup? Could Jakub Kiwior start ahead of Rob Holding? All will be answered soon.