Hleb will have surgery today or tomorrow, and his recovery time is being quotes as the same as for Ashley Cole:6 to 8 weeks.

Lots of people seem to be trying to talk this up as an injury crisis. But I just can't see it. Yes we've got a good few players missing for tomorrow's game, but we've got good cover in all those positions. And of the players that are out, Gilberto (who's not injured) and Robin van Persie are expected to be back for the Champs League on Tuesday, and Sol Campbell and Thierry Henry very soon after that (see official injury news).

Tomorrow's anticipated line-up has been described as a "dramatic reshuffle". But of the absentees, only Henry and Gilberto would have been guaranteed starters. Cole for example has been rested for Clichy before, and Senderos was keeping Campbell out of the side not so long ago. Don't believe the hype!

Sure, it's bad news for Hleb. But he's not secured a starting place yet anyway. It's not a crisis for Arsenal. If we lose to a West Brom side with 1 point from the last 18, however, I may have to change my tune on that...

Incidentally, this season I'm working on the Arsenal vs the World pages a bit. As we play each team, I'll be bringing the stats up to date and also adding some trivia including lists top scorers and players who've played for both clubs. See West Brom page for example.