Arteta ruled out

Arsenal's worst fears have been confirmed after it was revealed Mikel Arteta will miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury.

The Spanish midfielder went over on his ankle in the early exchanges of the game with Wigan on Monday night and although it is not broken, he will still miss the rest of the campaign. Scans have revealed ligament damage and it will now be next season before the midfielder returns to first team action, news which is a big blow to Arsene Wenger. Arteta had been in fine form for the Gunners since his £10million switch from Everton and it is something Wenger could do without as Arsenal fight to hang on to third place. It also leaves Wenger short of midfielders ahead of the huge game with Chelsea this weekend as Yossi Benayoun is unable to play against his parent club.