MAN CITY INJURY BLOW AS STONES, WALKER OUT FOR ARSENAL CLASH

John Stones went off injured in England's game against Belgium on Tuesday. Getty

 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been dealt a double injury blow ahead of the crucial Premier League clash with Arsenal after confirming on Friday both John Stones and Kyle Walker will miss out.

Stones and Walker picked up injuries playing for England during the international break and will not be available for Arsenal's visit to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Kevin De Bruyne, Éderson, Jack Grealish and Manuel Akanji are all expected to be fit to face Mikel Arteta's side, who are top of the table level on points with Liverpool and one point ahead of City.

"Kyle and John are out, it is what it is," Guardiola told a news conference on Friday.

"Kevin is such an important player. It has been a tough season for him with injuries, being out for a long time. He trained really well yesterday [on Thursday] so we will see what we're going to do in the next days."

Stones has suffered injury problems this season and has been limited to just 22 games in all competitions. He played 90 minutes for England against Brazil last Saturday and was picked to start again against Belgium three days later.

Gareth Southgate has come in for criticism for picking Stones twice in such a short space a time but asked whether he was disappointed, Guardiola refused to get involved in the row. "I don't have any comments on that," he said.

On Sunday, Guardiola will come up against Declan Rice, a player he tried to sign in the summer. City lodged a bid for the England midfielder before he swapped West Ham for Arsenal in a club record deal worth £105 million ($132.6m)

"He's not the first one who we wanted who didn't join us," Guardiola said. "Either they don't want to come or whatever, he took his decision and good luck.

"All the teams in the Premier League would have signed Declan Rice, an international captain and a young player playing a lot of games regularly. That's why Arsenal pushed."

- Rob Dawson, Correspondent

LIVERPOOL'S KLOPP BLASTS REFEREE FOR DENYING LATE PENALTY

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 Jurgen Klopp said Liverpool were denied a clear penalty and questioned what VAR official Stuart Attwell had "for lunch" after Alexis Mac Allister was subjected to a 99th-minute chest-high challenge by Manchester City's Jérémy Doku in Sunday's 1-1 draw at Anfield.

Mac Allister's second-half penalty, following a foul by City keeper Éderson on Darwin Núñez, earned a point for Liverpool after John Stones had given the champions a first-half lead.

But Liverpool could have been given the chance to win the game deep into stoppage time had referee Michael Oliver been asked by VAR official Attwell to review Doku's challenge.

The incident was assessed by Attwell and assistant VAR Nick Hopton, but Oliver was not sent to the pitchside monitor to have the final decision.

"Why would the guy in the VAR room think that's not clear and obvious?" Klopp said. "What did he have for lunch?"

"It was 100 percent a penalty. They [officials] will find an explanation. It was 100 percent foul in all areas of the pitch and probably a yellow card.

"Somebody will tell me how it was not a penalty, or Howard [Webb, head of Professional Game Match Officials Ltd.] will call me tomorrow and say he is sorry. These are the two possible outcomes and both things will not change the result.

"All the people with iPads around me were, 'Wow, clear.' Maybe they can hide behind the phrase it is not clear and obvious.

"It is of course a penalty but we didn't get it and that is fine. The most important thing for me is that we can play football like that. I saw so many sensational performances today."