Premier League: Manchester City defender Pablo Zabaleta ready to return

Manchester City defender Pablo Zabaleta is confident he will be able to feature in Saturday’s game with Arsenal at Emirates Stadium.

The Argentina full-back was forced to come off during the 4-2 victory over Germany in Dortmund last week following a heavy tackle from Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski.

"It was a hard tackle and I still have some discomfort but it's getting better each day,” Zabaleta told City's official website.

"I've been doing some running on my own earlier in the week but I'll be fine for the game. I still have a couple more days before we play and by then I should be fully fit."

Arsenal beat City 3-0 in the Community Shield, but with a number of key players having returned to the squad since then Zabaleta believes it will be a much closer affair in north London this weekend.

"It was the first game of the campaign and the squad were not all back from the summer or 100 per cent fit," he said.

"We are much stronger than we were a month ago and we will continue to improve and get back into our stride as each game goes by.

"That said, Arsenal are a very good team and it is always a hard game at the Emirates.”

Manuel Pellegrini’s side lost 1-0 at home to Stoke in their final game before the international break and Zabaleta admits they are keen to return to winning ways.

"We are looking to bounce back after the Stoke defeat and we will go there to win three points,” he said.