Silvestre injury piles on the worries for Wenger

Arsene Wenger is today awaiting a report from his medical team to determine if Mikael Silvestre will be fit to face his former club Manchester United on Saturday.

The 31-year-old defender came off with a suspected broken nose during the second half of Arsenal's goalless draw with Fenerbahce at Emirates Stadium last night.

Should the Frenchman be ruled out, it will put added pressure on captain William Gallas to return from the hamstring injury that has forced him to miss the last two matches against Stoke and Tottenham.

Full-back Bacary Sagna is almost certain to have recovered from an ankle problem after not being risked last night.

But Gunners boss Wenger could have only Kolo Toure and the relatively-inexperienced pair Johan Djourou and Alex Song fit to play at centre-half if both Gallas and Silvestre are unavailable. Things look stretched elsewhere with Emmanuel Eboue sidelined with a knee problem and Theo Walcott struggling to return due to a damaged shoulder.

Emmanuel Adebayor is missing with an ankle injury and as Robin van Persie is suspended, Nicklas Bendtner is set to lead the attack. The 20-year-old Dane remains unfazed by the prospect in what is arguably the biggest game of his career.

He said: "I always feel confident. I'll play to my strength and the team will play as a unit. If we all play well that should be enough.

"If I can score and help us win the game then I'll be very happy.

"If I play well and someone else scores I'll also be happy. We'll try to win it like we always do. We believe we can beat anyone with the players that we have available."