Arsenal will be without Abou Diaby for a month after the midfielder sustained a thigh injury.

Diaby’s injury has led to Wenger confirming that Denilson will start the season alongside Fabregas in central midfield with few options open to him.

“We will have to work on some things which I saw on Friday night [against Ajax]. It worked well with Denilson and Fabregas”, remarked a philosophical Wenger.

Denilson did indeed start with Fabregas against Ajax on Friday and he got in on the act by earning an assist for Adebayor’s winning goal. The Brazilian is available to fantasy managers as a low-mid price midfielder and could well tempt a few given Arsenal’s kind fixture list over the first few months.

The Arsenal boss also offered us a word of warning on Fabregas who he describes as fit but certainly not at his sharpest:

‘I believe he will be ready. He has worked very hard since he has come back. You cannot say he will be at his best but he will be fit enough,’ said Wenger.

That’s certainly food for thought going into the final week of selection. Arsenal’s fixtures are strong but it could be that faith in Fabregas is faltering after just 83 minutes of pre-season action. The emergence of Adebayor against Ajax could see some of the Fabregas funds diverted over the course of this week.

Looking forward, Wenger’s options wil be boosted by the return of Alex Song from the Olympics at the end of August. However, Nasri is currently nursing a knee injury that is likely to see him miss the Champions League qualifier with FC Twente on Wednesday and make him a doubt for the season opener against West Brom.

Rosicky is another who Wenger will hope to have back available to him but he is currently targeting a return in late September.