Arsenal forward Andrey Arshavin has suffered a minor setback in his recovery from a calf injury and will not play this weekend against Manchester City at the Emirates.

Arshavin had hoped his injury would recover in time but last night he conceded that the City game was too early for him, although he is confident of being able to take part in Arsenal’s final two games against Blackburn and Fulham.

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‘Alas, the latest data says I should fully recover within a week, so on Saturday I won’t be able to enter the pitch,’ he said on Wednesday night. ‘I hope to play in the remaining matches of the season – against Blackburn and Fulham.’

It’s another blow to a depleted Arsenal squad. Although Arshavin has not been at his best in recent months, he always poses a threat when he’s on the pitch and is a potential match-winner, something i think Arsenal have missed in recent games.

The return of Robin Van Persie has been a major boost, albeit a little too late to influence Arsenal’s title bid, but i would have liked to see both Arshavin and RVP play against City on Saturday, just to see how they play together.

Thierry Henry – £10m from Juventus
Patrick Vieira – £3.5m from AC Milan
Nicolas Anelka – £0.5m from PSG
Robert Pires – £6m from Metz
Cesc Fabregas – Freebie from Barca
Freddie Ljungberg – £3m from Halmstad
Andrei Arshavin – £15m from Zenit
Gael Clichy – £0.25m from Cannes
Aaron Ramsey – £5m from Cardiff
Carlos Vela – £0.5m from some Mexican club
Robin Van Persie – £4.5m from Feyenord
Sol Campbell – Twice a freebie, once from the Scum!

There is an interesting mish-mash of Arsenal transfer news this morning, and considering that Wenger has already stated that he will be concentrating on strengthening the Arsenal defence this summer, he is being linked with a couple of out-and-out strikers!

Mario Balotelli is known as a bit of a hothead at Inter Milan, and he has fallen out with his manager Jose Mourinho quite a few times this year already.

Mourinho left him out of the Champions League squads that faced Chelsea and CSKA Moscow, but surprisingly put him on the bench for this weeks crunch match against Barcelona. This appears to have backfired considerably, as when he was brought on he was booed and heckled by the Inter fans. This resulted in him abusing them back and throwing his shirt on the ground at the end of the game.

While all the Inter players were celebrating loudly, Balotelli was storming off down the tunnel in a rage. After this display of petulance it is highly unlikely that he will remain at the San Siro next season, and as Wenger has previously admitted that he admired the young Italians raw skill, he has now been linked with a move to the Emirates again.

Although it is nearly certain that Balotelli will be sold, would Wenger be able to turn his agression into a positive advantage instead of the self-destructing anger he has now?

The other striker linked this morning is Aston Villa’s promising young Englishman Gabriel Agbonlahor. The 23 year-old has had a good season at Villa Park with 16 goals, and with Martin O’Neill failing yet again to break into the top four, it is being said that Arsenal could lure him to the Emirates with the promise of Champions League football. Admittedly Agbonlahor has proven Premiership ability, but if Wenger has Van Persie, Bendtner and Chamakh all fit next season, how often would Agbonlahor get off the Arsenal bench? I can’t see a player like him being happy with Carling Cup football, can you?

The last rumour today sounds much more likely to be a Wenger target. The 18 year-old Rangers centre-back Danny Wilson has become a regular in the Scottish Champions first XI this season, and has already been picked for the Scotland U21 side despite his tender age. He was voted as Rangers Young-Player-Of-The-Year and is thought to have a very bright future. He is reportedly being watched by many other top English clubs as well as Arsenal, but he looks like he would be a promising addition to Wenger’s young Guns. Wilson seems a much more likely arrival than either Balotelli or Agbonlahor…

Brentford manager Andy Scott, impressed with Wojciech Szczesny since he joined on loan from Arsenal, is ready to keep the goalkeeper for at least another season.

Szczesny, 20, has been in impressive form for the bees since joining in November 2009 as the above video compilation shows, with his best game coming against Leeds United after which he was awarded with the man of the match award.

But, with Arsenal’s current goalkeepers facing a lot of questions after a very disappointing season, it is not unlikely for Arsene Wenger – who last January described the Polish as one who will be #1 for his team – to recall the youngster in his attempt to find a proper goalkeeper for his squad.

And Scott, who hopes to have the services of the goalkeeper for next season, admitted chances for this to be true are very small.

He said:

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We’ll always ask the question if we can have him next season. We’d like to think that the Arsenal goalkeeping coach who’s been at the majority of games has seen his improvement and they recognise what we’ve done for him and how it’s benefited him. Whether another year out on loan is beneficial to his development we don’t know. We’d like to think we’ve shown we’re a progressive club who can be challenging at the right end of the league next year. If that’s the right place for him to be we’ll think we have a chance. We’d love to have him back, but we understand the chances are very small.

Alex Song may return for the visit of Manchester City on Saturday evening.

The midfielder, who has missed the last three games with an inflamed cartilage, faces a fitness test on Friday.

The inclusion of the Cameroon international is the only major change possible from the squad that lost at Wigan last Sunday. That is because Andrey Arshavin (calf), Manuel Almunia (wrist) and Denilson (groin) are still out.

“Maybe Song [could be off the injury list],” Wenger told TV Online on Thursday. “He has a test tomorrow and we’ll see. He is a question mark.

“Apart from that, nobody is back. Andrey Arshavin is out. Everyone else - Gallas, Almunia, Denilson - is still out too.”

Meanwhile Kieran Gibbs (foot) and Johan Djourou (knee) are approaching fitness after long-term injuries. However Wenger believes only the latter has a possibility of playing again this season.

“Djourou has a little chance,” he said. “But Gibbs will be very short.”