Defensive problems for Arsenal

Arsenal's desperate injury crisis has deepened with the news that Kieran Gibbs has suffered a setback in his recovery from a hernia.

Centre halves Thomas Vermaelen and Laurent Koscielny are expected to start at full-back in Wednesday night's Barclays Premier League game at Aston Villa after a spate of injuries ravaged Arsenal's squad.

Already shorn of long-term absentees Bacary Sagna, Carl Jenkinson, and Andre Santos, Wenger was left in despair on Sunday evening with the news that Johan Djourou would be out for three weeks with a groin problem. But just when Wenger thought the situation could not get any worse, first-choice left-back Gibbs suffered a setback in his recovery from a hernia.

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