Arsène Wenger has been boosted by the return of Robin van Persie to his squad for tonight’s Carling Cup semi-final. The Holland striker has made only two appearances since injuring a knee on international duty in October, with a setback in training last month ruling him out since the 1-0 win over Chelsea.

Van Persie is likely to start on the bench, with Wenger keen to stick with the bulk of the players responsible for the 3-2 quarter-final win over Blackburn Rovers as Arsenal seek to reach the final for the second year in a row. Johan Djourou will make his first appearance of the season alongside his Switzerland teammate, Philippe Senderos, after returning from a loan spell at Birmingham City, while Theo Walcott has recovered from a virus.

“Robin van Persie is back in the squad,” Wenger said. “He had a little setback coming back from his knee injury, it was a muscle problem. But the positive side of it is that he could forget about his knee and work on his fitness.

“Theo Walcott is available, while Johan Djourou and Philippe Senderos will play at the back. Apart from that, it will be the players who played in the last Carling Cup game. Basically, it will be a young side with one or two experienced players.”

After recalling Jens Lehmann for the FA Cup third-round win away to Burnley, Wenger will return to Lukasz Fabianski, who has been in goal throughout the Carling Cup campaign. The Poland international hopes to use the opportunity to endear himself to Arsenal fans on only his second appearance at the Emirates.

“It is a big, big game for me, the fans and for everybody who is a Gunner,” Fabianski said. “I know that this is a London derby game and I spoke to Manuel Almunia, who saved a penalty against Spurs in the Premier League. He told me that if you save a penalty against Tottenham, then you are the biggest man in the world.”

Arsenal (probable; 4-4-2): L Fabianski - J Hoyte, J Djourou, P Senderos, A Traoré – T Walcott, Denilson, L Diarra, A Diaby – N Bendtner, Eduardo da Silva.

Tottenham Hotspur (probable; 4-4-2): P Robinson – P Chimbonda, L King, M Dawson, Lee Young Pyo – A Lennon, J Jenas, K-P Boateng, S Malbranque – D Berbatov, R Keane. Referee: M Dean. Television: Live on Sky Sports 1 from 7pm (kick-off 7.45pm).