Gunners missing five star names

League leaders Arsenal will be without at least five first-team squad members against Aston Villa tomorrow, with Robert Pires and Giovanni van Bronckhorst joining David Seaman, Martin Keown and Ashley Cole on the sidelines.

Pires injured his ankle against Chelsea last week and therefore missed France’s two internationals, while van Bronckhorst also has an ankle problem after playing for Holland against the Czech Republic.

Seaman and Keown are back in training after hamstring injuries but are still short of comebacks, while Cole is in full training after a hernia operation but is more likely to return in the FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United next weekend.

French Under-21 international Jeremie Aliadiere has, meanwhile, been ruled out for the rest of the season and is due to have a hernia operation next week.

Provisional squad: Taylor, Warmuz, Lauren, Luzhny, Toure, Campbell, Cygan, Stepanovs, Vieira, Gilberto Silva, Edu, Parlour, Wiltord, Ljungberg, Henry, Bergkamp, Jeffers, Kanu.