Chelsea 6/4, Arsenal
15/8, Draw
11/5
Arsenal's defensive crisis has deepened ahead of
the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea on Saturday after Kieran
Gibbs emerged as his latest injury concern. Right-back Bacary Sagna
withdrew through illness on the eve of this week's Champions League
clash against Villarreal, while Gibbs picked up a groin problem
late in the victory.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is
already without Gael Clichy (back), William Gallas (knee) and Johan
Djourou (knee) for Wembley. "We still have Sagna as a doubt for the
weekend," said Wenger. "And after Villarreal we have Kieran Gibbs
as a doubt too. He has a little groin problem. Clichy, Almunia and
Djourou are still out."
Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia
will also miss the semi-final with his ankle injury, meaning Lukasz
Fabianski will deputise, but who plays at left-back instead of
Clichy and Gibbs is less straightforward.
"There is the option to play Sagna in there if he has
recovered," Wenger said on Arsenal TV Online. "The other is to play
(Mikael) Silvestre there and put (Alex) Song at the back.
"There are not many options but we'll deal with the situation no
matter what happens. "I am happy to take 48 hours more so I can
assess the [injury] situation. Also it means I can look back at how
I rotated before and, as well, how we can keep the balance right
considering the opponent.
"We have to rotate a little bit because we play every three days
now and only the squad can achieve what we want to achieve."
Almunia and Djourou are a fortnight away from action, while
Clichy needs two-and-a-half weeks of rest. It means they are all
doubts for the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against
Manchester United.
The good news for Wenger is Andrey Arshavin and Eduardo are both
available for Wembley.
