Henry: Gunners' third round hero

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Arsenal v Aston Villa

Arsenal and Aston Villa contest one of six all-Premier League ties when they clash in the fourth round of the FA Cup at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

The Gunners have endured a rollercoaster ride in terms of results this season, with their early resurgence severely dented by three successive league defeats.

Their most recent cup outing saw Arsene Wenger’s men need a late strike from Thierry Henry, who was making his debut after re-joining on loan from MLS side New York Red Bulls, to see off Leeds 1-0 in the previous round.

Villa, meanwhile, have lost just one of their last six matches in all competitions and have slowly edged their way up the league standings into 11th.

On the team front, Arsenal continue to be without Marouane Chamakh and Gervinho, who are both away at the Africa Cup of Nations, meaning Wenger could start Henry up front with Andrey Arshavin or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the supporting role.

The north Londoners continue to be plagued by injury at the back, with Bacary Sagna, Kieran Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson and Andre Santos all struggling with various knocks.

Meanwhile, the Villans are still without Charles N’Zogbia as the winger continues to recover a heel strain, while manager Alex McLeish is likely to be without any recognisable full-backs due to injury.

The vsisitors are, however, boosted by the availability of striker Gabriel Agbonlahor who has overcome a recent illness.