Arsenal facing injury crisis

Premier League leaders Arsenal will be without striker Olivier Giroud (ankle) and Kieran Gibbs (calf) for the New Year’s Day game against Cardiff.

Midfielders Tomas Rosicky (calf) and Jack Wilshere (ankle) both face fitness tests, as does England forward Theo Walcott (shoulder). Defenders Nacho Monreal and Thomas Vermaelen have both been laid low by illness.

Midfielder Aaron Ramsey (thigh) will be out for around three weeks, while the extent of German playmaker Mesut Ozil’s shoulder problem is still being assessed.

Yaya Sanogo (back), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Abou Diaby (both knee) all remain sidelined.

Provisional squad: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Jenkinson, Arteta, Flamini, Wilshere, Cazorla, Walcott, Podolski, Fabianski, Rosicky, Monreal, Vermaelen, Bendtner, Gnabry, Frimpong.