Understrength Arsenal reshuffle for Bolton test
Arsenal will face up to life without Thierry Henry in tomorrow’s FA Cup sixth-round tie against Bolton at the Reebok Stadium.
The French striker – who scored in the 1-0 Champions League victory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday night – will be unavailable for “two to three weeks” with a calf strain.
Robin van Persie and Quincy Owusu-Abeyie are in contention to start alongside Dennis Bergkamp in attack, while Jose Antonio Reyes could also be moved further forward.
Brazilian midfielder Edu injured his knee in the build-up to the Bayern game - which Arsenal lost on aggregate – and is likely to be sidelined for much of the end-of-season run-in.
Gilberto was a shock selection on the bench in midweek after being out since September when fracturing his vertebrae. However, boss Arsene Wenger expects the midfielder to need a couple more reserve outings before he is fully match fit.
Sol Campbell (ankle) and Pascal Cygan (thigh) are still out, and Manuel Almunia (groin) is a doubt, so Wenger will probably stick with the same defence which kept a clean sheet against Bayern.
Provisional squad: Lehmann, Taylor, Almunia, Lauren, Cole, Clichy, Toure, Senderos, Eboue, Vieira, Flamini, Fabregas, Pires, Reyes, Ljungberg, van Persie, Bergkamp, Owusu-Abeyie, Gilberto, Aliadiere.
