Arsenal have been boosted by the news that captain Thomas Vermaelen will return from injury to face Liverpool on Wednesday night.

The Belgian missed out on the Gunners’ 3-2 FA Cup triumph over Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend with an ankle knock, but is now back in contention for the Reds visit to the Emirates Stadium.

His comeback is now likely to cause a selection dilemma for Arsene Wenger, as he is forced to choose two from Vermaelen, Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker.

Arteta

However, Arsenal are still without vice-skipper Mikel Arteta and midfielder Francis Coquelin for the meeting with the Merseysiders.

The Spaniard has been missing since the 2-2 draw in the FA Cup third round tie at Swansea City earlier this month, but told the fans that he is close to returning from his calf problem.

Arteta tweeted:

“Only out 2 weeks and it seems like 2 months for me!! Desperate to be back on the pitch!! Nearly there…”

Coquelin remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, and with Emmanuel Frimpong shipped out to Fulham on loan last week, this could mean that Aaron Ramsey retains his place as the holding midfielder for tonight’s match.

Important game

With Liverpool sitting just three points behind us in the table, I feel that tonight is simply a must-win game. Not only would three points push us away from the likes of the Red and the Swans, but it would also allow us to stay in contention for finishing fourth.

Despite the fact that Liverpool were dumped out of the FA Cup by League One outfit Oldham Athletic on Sunday, it would be foolish to think that this will be a comfortable win, especially against a side that contains Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard.

I believe that we are favourites, but do worry about the damage that a nimble Suarez could do against our defence. However, we seem to be able to find the back of the net quite well at the moment, with Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski all in fine form.

I would expect a similar team to the one that start against West Ham United last week, and do think that we will edge a tight affair in London, and come out with the win.

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