Vermaelen on verge of Arsenal comeback

Thomas Vermaelen could make his comeback from a two-month Achilles injury layoff in tomorrow's Carling Cup fourth-round tie against Bolton at the Emirates Stadium.

With one eye on Saturday's derby at Chelsea, manager Arsene Wenger is likely to rest the likes of Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker and Robin van Persie.

Instead, he is set to give starts to fringe players such as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Francis Coquelin, Park Chu-Young and Emmanuel Frimpong.

Carl Jenkinson (knee), Abou Diaby (ankle), Kieran Gibbs (stomach), Bacary Sagna (leg) and Jack Wilshere (ankle) are unavailable.

Provisional squad: Fabianski, Szczesny, Mannone, Martinez, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Miquel, Vermaelen, Song, Frimpong, Ramsey, Coquelin, Miyaichi, Ozyakup, Aneke, Watt, Arteta, Gervinho, Van Persie, Walcott, Park, A Santos, Benayoun, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Djourou, Rosicky, Arshavin, Chamakh, Squillaci.