Scout Scribbles- Arteta Out for Gunners

Mikel Arteta is ruled out for Arsenal’s showdown with Man United. Chris Smalling and Phil Jones are fit for the champions, Roger Johnson looks set to return for Wolves, while Martin O’Neill is in line for a defensive boost ahead of the visit of Swansea:

Arsene Wenger gave a substantial injury update this morning ahead of Arsenal’s match with Man United. The Gunners boss revealed Mikel Arteta is definitely out of Sunday’s showdown and conceded he is far from optimistic on the availability of Thomas Vermaelen, with the Belgian a major doubt. Thierry Henry is due to have a test on a calf problem on Saturday, while Wenger also admitted full-backs Kieren Gibbs and Bacary Sagna are two to three weeks away from a return.

Chris Smalling and Phil Jones will both be available for Man United for the Emirates clash. The defensive duo missed out in last week’s home win over Bolton but Sir Alex Ferguson revealed this morning they are both fully recovered. Anderson suffered a setback in training and is unavailable.

Harry Redknapp is confident that Jermain Defoe can come into the Spurs side against City on Sunday and have a big say in the title race. Defoe is of course more-or-less guaranteed a place in Spurs’ starting XI with loan star Emmanuel Adebayor unable to play against his parent club. However, it seems that owners of Adebayor do not need to worry about the Togolese striker regaining his place in the side against Wigan the following week, Redknapp said:

With Emmanuel Adebayor here, it’s been a case of Manu and who else up front?

West Brom manager Roy Hodgson is confident that midfielder Graham Dorrans can fill the hole left by Paul Scharner’s likely absence against Stoke tomorrow. Scharner is struggling to recover from an Achilles injury and Dorrans, who has only played a bit part role for the Baggies this season, is looking good to replace the Austrian. Hodgson said:

It’s a chance for Graham Dorrans, who has done well in recent games when he has come on. He is also getting better and better with every training session. He is a quality player. You don’t lose that quality but sometimes you get rusty if you are not playing or have had injuries like he has.

Wigan face a midfield headache with Mohamed Diame on international duty and David Jones doubtful with a calf injury. However manager Roberto Martinez has no other fitness worries with Albert Crusat returning successfully from his back injury against Manchester City on Monday.

Wolves are set to welcome back captain Roger Johnson for their vital midlands derby against Aston Villa on Saturday. Johnson, who was a vital part of the Wolves defence that kept Spurs at bay last weekend, has been feeling the effects of the ankle injury he picked up against Birmingham two weeks ago. Wolves are without a clean-sheet since their stalemate against Aston Villa back in August but could break that run in the reverse fixture this weekend.

Everton gaffer David Moyes will once again have to put a together a makeshift defence for the visit of Blackburn with Tony Hibbert and Phil Jagielka still someway off a return. However, Sylvain Distin is making a good recovery from the injury that he sustained against Spurs and will be given every chance to prove his fitness prior to the Rovers game.

Fabian Delph has returned to old club Leeds from Aston Villa. The midfielder joins up at Elland Road on a twenty-eight day emergency loan deal and pre-empts the deal that will see Johnny Howson join up at Norwich. Paul Lambert confirmed this morning he expect the Leeds skipper to have completed his move to Carrow Road by the weekend.

Reports suggest Ryan Shotton and Rory Delap may be sidelined for Stoke’s game with West Brom tomorrow. With Jermaine Pennant currently out of favour, the Potters could be set to turn to Ben Marshall to solve the right wing berth.

Martin O’Neill received some positive injury news ahead of Sunderland’s home game with Swansea. Wes Brown and Titus Bramble are making strong progress from groin and Achilles injuries respectively and may be set to feature, with O’Neill admitting:

Wes is improving and so is Titus. The news on Wes has been good this week and we’ll see how he is today, as we will with Titus. But Wes, perhaps more than Titus, might have a chance for this weekend. They’re certainly looking better than they were at this time last week.