“I had him on the phone last night, and he is there for sickness reasons,” manager Arsene Wenger revealed.

“The situation looks quite good now, and hopefully he will be in on Monday morning, so we will see him for the Champions League game.”

Ljungberg will also be rested again tomorrow after several weeks out with a calf injury.

“I nearly wanted to pick him, but it is down to the fact that for five weeks he has not played one minute at a competitive level,” said Wenger.

Brazilian Julio Baptista, however, is available, along with goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, who has recovered from the heavy cold which saw him miss the win over Liverpool and Germany’s midweek Euro 2008 qualifier in Cyprus.

Midfielder Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) is still a week or so away from fitness, while Abou Diaby (ankle) and Lauren (knee) are long-term absentees.

Team (from): Lehmann, Hoyte, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Fabregas, Hleb, Henry, van Persie, Baptista, Almunia, Djourou, Senderos, Eboue, Song, Flamini, Walcott, Aliadiere, Adebayor.