The France star has been signed till the end of the season. Hw ould have made his debut in the cup against Fulham last weekend but City were unable to get international clearance from France in time. So he'll start his English spell by lining up against a few of his compatriots.

Not Patrick Vieira though, as Wenger says he's not quite fit yet. Freddie Ljungberg is also out, and while Ray Parlour is now fit to play again, he's going to be given some games in the reserves before returning to first team action.

Arsenal.com also say that Rami Shaaban is the only other absentee, which may be a mistake or it may mean that Stuart Taylor is back from his broken finger... which could mean that we'll be leaving the goalkeeper search for now.

Birmingham could also be fielding new signings Jamie Clapham and Stephen Clemence. But Darren Purse (whose class stood out somewhat when they visited Highbury) is out injured. See "treatment room" from the official Blues website.

More team news nearer the time.

Rupe adds...
Keeper update: Matt Pepper writes to say that the match programme for New Years Day said that Taylor is indeed back on the bench, but with his finger strapped up so they're still looking for cover.

Saturday update:
Aliou Cisse, Clinton Morrison and Geoff Horsfield are all suspended for City, but new loan signing Ferdinand Coly (from Lens) makes his debut. Some reports suggest that Centrebacks Steve Vickers and Michael Johnson should return from injury, but the Official Birmingham City website's "Treatment room" page seems to be saying that Vickers is more likely than Johnson. The page also lists Kenny Cunningham, Martin Grainger, and Stan Lazaridis as doubtful.

Ljungberg's problem now is apparently an Achilles tendon problem, having recovered from his recent virus. Like Parlour, Cygan is back from injury. Unlike Parlour he has played for the reserves already, but Keown and Campbell (and hopefully Upson) will be ahead of him in Wenger's plans for centre back.