Cole to join Ljungberg on sidelines

Ashley Cole is a major doubt for Arsenal ahead of the Premiership clash with Portsmouth at Fratton Park on Sunday.

The England left-back picked up a knee injury during the 2-2 draw with Chelsea that has prevented him from training this week. He was due to resume training this afternoon but Arsene Wenger looks set to give him a rest to ensure his readiness for the demanding Christmas and New Year programme.

That will mean a call-up for Gael Clichy, though Swedish midfield player Fredrik Ljungberg will also miss out. He has been ruled out of the last two matches because of migraines but a scan yesterday showed no problem and he will resume full training next week.

Wenger acknowledged that Arsenal's defensive resolve will be tested at Fratton Park where they recorded a 5-1 win in the FA Cup but were also held 1-1 in the league last season.

It is the Premiership result around which Wenger will plan his team talk.

"In the cup match, Portsmouth played more open but the league was a lot tighter," he said. "Hopefully we will see the results of what we have worked on this week. Portsmouth have a lot of pace and [Lomano] Lua-Lua and [Ricardo] Fuller are dangerous players."

And despite the loss of two points last Sunday that keeps a five point gap between Arsenal and Chelsea, Wenger insisted he could take positives from the game - as in midfield where Francesc Fabregas and Mathieu Flamini excelled in the absence of Patrick Vieira, Gilberto Silva, Edu and Ljungberg.