Mikel Arteta ruled two players out of Friday's FA Cup tie between Manchester City and Arsenal, with Gabriel Jesus among those sidelined.
Jesus made the £45m transfer from City to Arsenal in the summer and has been key to the Gunners' transformation under Arteta into favourites for the Premier League title.
Along with Jesus, Aleks Zinchenko joined Arsenal in the summer, and Friday night represents their first opportunity to return to the Etihad, in the FA Cup fourth round. Jesus, however, has been injured recently, and has been ruled out by his manager.
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"With him I don’t know. He wants to be next week. It’s totally unrealistic," Arteta said. "He’s pushing and driving everyone to the limits. Hopefully, it will be weeks not months."
Along with Jesus, Arteta also confirmed that midfielder Mohamed Elneny will also not return in time, saying: "There is no more news on the team, there are no more injuries. We have the two we brought in and a big bench.
"This is a big test against, in my opinion, the best football team in the world. I am looking forward to it. It will tell us a lot about where we are."
With City five points behind Arsenal in the Premier League and having played a game more, the title race is likely to be heavily influenced by the two league meetings between the sides still to be played.
Arteta, however, isn't buying into the idea that Saturday's cup tie could have any bearing on the eventual destination of the league title.
"They will be very different games so there is no comparison, but let's see," he said. "The important thing is to play well and try to win. Winning gives you momentum, breeds confidence and helps you to prepare for the next match. That will be our focus on Friday."
"In some ways it will define our season, yes, because if we are able to win on Friday we will go into the next round and they won't. It is a very important competition for us and winning will define this moment, for sure, as it will give us a chance to try to go on and win this trophy."
Arteta, who was previously City's assistant manager, also opened up on his relationship with Blues boss and friend Pep Guardiola, saying that he always hoped that the pair would be competing for trophies together.
He said: "I always hoped that would be the case one day. It happens this season. It's not going to change anything with our friendship or the moment we have, how important he is in my life more than in my profession. We are both wanting to win and defend our clubs in the best possible way and that's always been the case since day one."
And in a press conference that will have featured plenty of interesting snippets for City fans, Arteta also praised Zinchenko's role in Arsenal's title charge, suggesting that his experiences at the Etihad have helped his new side into pole position for this season's league.
He said: "We know he [Zinchenko] is a player that gives us everything we want in that position. He gives us versatility but takes a lot of attention as well, freeing up spaces for us, which is really important.
"I would especially highlight his intensity. What he brought is a real desire to win and to make something special with this team. The experiences he has had in the past are really helpful to that."
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