Friday Apr 04 2008 14:41
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Robin van Persie will miss Saturday's Premier League clash with
Liverpool with a thigh problem.
The injury-plagued Netherlands striker limped out of the 1-1 Champions League quarter-final first-leg draw between the two sides on Wednesday evening and will miss the return league encounter.
However, the Gunners have been boosted by the news that fellow striker EmManUel Adebayor is fit to face the Reds in a must-win game as far as their title challenge is concerned despite being troubled by an ankle problem.
Tomas Rosicky (hamstring), Bacary Sagna (ankle) and Eduardo (broken leg) will also miss out through injury, while Abou Diaby is suspended.
"Robin is not available but Adebayor will be," Wenger told the club's official website. "He is fit enough to start. I don't really know if he will be able to last 90 minutes. That is difficult to predict.
"Wednesday was an intense game, but in the last 24 hours we have been able to assess the players for the upcoming game."
Meanwhile, Cesc Fabregas is confident that team-mate Mathieu Flamini will agree a new contract to remain at the Emirates Stadium.
The French midfielder is out of contract in the summer but has been locked in negotiations over a new deal for the past few months.
"He is concentrating on the football at the moment," said Fabregas. "We are still going for two titles so right now everything else is not as important.
"Of course he wants to know where he will be next season, but we all hope he will be with us. He is working really hard, he is a nice guy, he wants the best for Arsenal and I know he wants to stay.
"He has a lot of options because he is playing amazing football, but I know he really wants to stay here and that's the most important thing."
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