Given the African thing, I wouldn't be surprised to see Emmanuel Eboue play, which raises the possibility of Lauren switching to left back (and Pascal Cygan being used in the middle instead of Phil).

Robin van Persie is said to be fit again, and there is talk of him starting instead of Thierry Henry. That'd be a shame because the skipper would be bound to get an even bigger reception at Highbury than usual today, in the wake of reports that he says he's staying at Arsenal. But it'd be unlike Wenger to leave him in for sentimental reasons or, indeed, to acknowledge that yesterday's "news" is anything of the sort (without wishing to undermine what Henry's been saying at all, it's not real news till he signs that new contract). Some reports are saying that Henry's being rested for the Carling Cup semi-final in midweek. Are we supposed to think he's going to be used in that? Is the Premiership situation really so bad that we need to take the League Cup seriously? I don't think so.

There's also talk of Cesc Fabregas being rested, but he doesn't always play anyway so I'd see that more as part of the general rotation in midfield. What's of more interest is whether one of the youngsters comes into that part of the pitch, Muamba for example? Freddie Ljungberg is available having recovered from the virus that kept him out on Tuesday.

Cardiff are without midfielder Jason Koumas, who's on loan from West Brom, who haven't given permission for him to play. Former (briefly_ England striker Michael Ricketts has just gone back to Leeds at the end of his loan spell. Boss Dave Jones also has to cope without midfield pair Paul Parry and Willie Boland, both of whom have leg injuries.

One interesting match-up will be van Persie versus Cardiff defender Glenn Loovens. The latter is a good friend of Robin's, they lived 2 streets away from each other in Rotterdam and were both signed by Feyenoord at the age of 13 (see this interview). Loovens is on loan from Feyenoord.

Another Cardiff player we'll recognise is Darren Purse, the 28 year old defender who caught the eye when at Birmingham, who was briefly the subject of big club transfer speculation but has found his way to Cardiff instead. Apparently he's not doing too well there either.

Striker Andy Campbell is back from a 3 month loan at Oxford United, where he failed to score.

Cardiff have lost 3 out of their last 4 fixtures and are struggling to stay in touch with the play-off places in the Championship. Arsenal will field a team that should be strong enough to deal with anything the Bluebirds can throw at them; it'll take something special from the visitors if they're to become the first lower-league team to put Arsenal out of the cup since Wenger arrived.