Robin van Persie and Laurent Koscielny ruled out of Arsenal's Premier League clash with Stoke

Striker Robin van Persie and defender Laurent Koscielny will both sit out Arsenal's midweek Premier League match with Stoke.

Arsene Wenger was expected to ring the changes after seeing his side stumble to a draw at Leyton Orient in the FA Cup on Sunday, and the duo were both expected to figure in a game that Arsenal must win to keep up the pressure on Manchester United at the top of the table.

However, the Dutchman's hamstring issue and the Frenchman's back problem are not deemed likely to rule them out of Sunday's League Cup final against Birmingham, and both are expected to be fully fit for the second leg of their Champions League tie with Barcelona.

Wenger told Arsenal TV Online: "We don't have Van Persie, Diaby and Koscielny available. Everybody else is fit.

"Diaby is suspended. Van Persie has a hamstring problem and Koscielny a back problem. Both are short-term and they have a chance for the game on Sunday."

Meanwhile for Stoke, boss Tony Pulis will not be able to call upon winger Matthew Etherington, who has succumbed to a back injury, but should recall former Arsenal target Asmir Begovic to the starting line-up after resting him in the FA Cup win over Brighton at the weekend.

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Samir Nasri confident of injury return

Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri is confident he will fully recover from a broken bone in his right leg.
Nasri was injured in a training ground accident on July 21, when he clashed with France and Arsenal teammate Abou Diaby while attempting to make a tackle.

"I am happy that it is just a fractured fibula. And it is better that it happened now rather than right in the middle of the season," Nasri told Monday's edition of sports daily L'Equipe.

"So it is just a case of being patient ... I have three weeks of immobility remaining before starting my physiotherapy in early September."

The 22-year-old Nasri was signed from Marseille last summer. He scored on his debut against West Bromwich Albion last season. He scored a total of seven goals in 44 appearances.

Foxsports

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Samir Nasri injury Video

Here's video footage of Samir Nasri's broken leg. You can see that the donkey Diaby catches him with a bad challenge nd he instantly hits the ground.

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No Eduardo injury

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has eased concerns over Eduardo's fitness, revealing he is set to play in Monday's friendly at Szombathelyi Haladas.

Eduardo is yet to figure in pre-season, but the Croatia striker is in line to make his bow against the Hungarians.

"Eduardo should play on Monday," Wenger said after Arsenal's 7-1 pre-season friendly success over SC Columbia.

The Croatia international returned to action earlier this year after dislocating his left ankle in a Premier League game with Birmingham in February last year and has since undergone "simple revision surgery".

Source: Foxsports

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Good news for Samir Nasri injury

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is confident France midfielder Samir Nasri will be out for just six weeks after breaking his leg.

Nasri, 22, suffered the injury on the first day of Arsenal's pre-season training camp in Austria on Tuesday and it was expected he would be sidelined for up to three months.

But Wenger revealed the fracture is a simple one and Nasri could return to training by the start of September.

He told Arsenal TV Online: "Unfortunately, he fractured his fibula and he will be out for six weeks.

"He accidentally nicked the ball away from somebody having a shot on goal. Unfortunately he got kicked and broke his fibula. It's not a complicated one, it's a simple one but it will take six weeks to heal."

Wenger believes Czech Republic winger Tomas Rosicky, back after 18 months out injured, will be the perfect replacement for Nasri, while Croatia forward Eduardo da Silva will also back in action by September.

"The options are Tomas Rosicky, who is back and in two months Eduardo will be back as well," Wenger said.

"We do have offensive options but we don't want to lose important players before the season starts."

Source: Yahoo

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