Hopes that Arsenal might be able to tinker a but with a squad that has looked tired in the last couple of weeks took a bit of a blow this morning with some unhappy news on the injury front.

Although Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mathieu Debuchy are back in full training both are considered too short of fitness to be considered for selection, while Danny Welbeck, who would have been a handy replacement for Olivier Giroud remains sidelined.

The former Man Utd man hasn’t played since coming on as a sub in the 0-0 draw with Chelsea almost a month ago and his absence has, sadly, coincided with Giroud’s loss of form.

Arsene Wenger has said that Oxlade-Chamberlain could fit for the FA Cup final next weekend and suggested Welbeck could regain fitness ‘quickly’ but it’s not an ideal situation to throw players who have been out for a while into a match of that magnitude.

Nevertheless, some changes are expected to Sunday’s team with the likes of Theo Walcott, Gabriel and Tomas Rosicky all set for a start.