Arsene has said that Koscielny is out with a back problem and Thomas Vermaelen is ten days or so away which should mean that Johan Djourou who classed himself as 100% fit should come in and partner the Squiller. Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner are back in the squad which is great

Apologies for the lack of blog yesterday, I was hiking around London pretty much all day with a double buggy with my two youngest. On my way home I was looking enviously at the vehicle that I had been pushing for so long. How I wished I could be tucked up asleep. I must have crashed out at about 9pm

Today I feel just as old and decrepit as I did last night, my recovery isn’t quite what it used to be. However recovery to Arsenal players seems to be improving as Aaron Ramsey is back running and kicking a ball once again. It only seemed like yesterday that the brutish Ryan Shawcross snapped young Ramsey’s leg in half but now he is on the road to recovery.

Having seen the demise of Eduardo da Silva, you can be sure that the Arsenal coaching staff will be very patient with him and give him plenty of time to make sure there are no physical problems holding him back but as we know, much of the problem is mental. I just have a feeling that Ramsey is made of the strong stuff and he will not shirk a challenge.

I mentioned on Twitter that the pecking order will be interesting once the real Aaron Ramsey stands up. Before this season, Aaron was the talented kid who was part of the squad and could come in every now and then to gain experience, well now there is a new boy in town. Jack Wilshere has effectively replaced Ramsey during the Welshman’s absence. When the rotation comes calling or the usual injury takes place in midfield then who will the boss look to first?

What a problem to have though. Wilshere was a year behind Ramsey in terms of development but could well have caught up if not surpassed him now with some fantastic performances so far. What it does tell us is that we have a superb future midfield to look forward to.

Obviously plenty can change from now until our younger players hit their peak. Many will not be good enough, some may not improve much more whilst others may develop much more later on in their careers. But for a bit of fun I was trying to put a side full of our most promising young players. Well it is almost impossible to select an 11 because we have so many players.

Szczesny

Eastmond Miquel Nordtviet Gibbs

Ramsey Frimpong Wilshere

Wellington Emmanuel-Thomas Vela

You could probably make two more elevens that could give this team a tough game. The likes of Aneke, Afobe, Angha, Coquelin, Ebecilio and the like are all very promising talented players.

But hey, this is 2010 and we have a league season to think about. Arsene has said that Koscielny is out with a back problem and Thomas Vermaelen is ten days or so away which should mean that Johan Djourou who classed himself as 100% fit should come in and partner the Squiller. Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner are back in the squad which is great. Apparently both players are very sharp at the moment so we may even see one of them starting the game especially with many of our players having played for their countries in midweek.

Will talk more about the game in tomorrow’s pre match post but I am disillusioned with Robin van Persie’s continued injury problems. He was due to return at the same time as Theo Walcott yet Robin is apparently not close to a return. Will his problems ever end? Or will it be this way until he eventually hands up his boots?

It is frustrating when any of our players spend time on the sidelines but when it is arguably your best player or at least best player in that position then it is doubly frustrating.

It is interesting how Cesc Fabregas declared himself pretty much fit enough to face Chelsea a few weeks ago yet he is not ready to play tomorrow. I am not so sure that he has any problems at all but I do remember he was kicked out of the game at St Andrews last season, so perhaps Arsene does not want a repeat of that on his first game back.

Back tomorrow.