The defender has been out with an ankle injury since early November and had not been expected to return until the end of the month, but made quicker progress than expected and will begin today's game among the substitutes.

Manager Arsene Wenger names an unchanged starting XI from the side that pummelled West Ham United 5-1 last time out, with Alexis Sanchez continuing to lead the line with support from Theo Walcott, Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Granit Xhaka and Francis Coquelin - suspended for the midweek Champions League win at Basel - operate in front of back four Gabriel, Shkodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal.

Striker Olivier Giroud is again forced to start the match on the bench.

For Mark Hughes's Stoke, there is just one change from the 2-0 win over Burnley last weekend, with Joe Allen getting the nod ahead of Jonathan Walters.

The Potters are expected to play in a 4-3-3 formation, with Allen joining Xherdan Shaqiri and Marko Arnautovic on the front line.

Bruno Martins Indi is passed fit to start in the back four after being elbowed in the face by Clarets striker Ashley Barnes at the Britannia.

Meanwhile, Glenn Whelan, Wilfried Bony, Peter Crouch and Bojan Krkic are all named among the substitutes.

Arsenal: Cech; Gabriel, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin, Xhaka; Walcott, Ozil, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Sanchez
Subs: Ospina, Gibbs, Bellerin, Elneny, Iwobi, Lucas, Giroud

Stoke City: Grant; Johnson, M.Indi, Muniesa, Pieters; Diouf, Adam, Imbula; Shaqiri, Allen, Arnautovic
Subs: Given; Whelan, Bony, Crouch, Bojan, Ramadan, Ngoy

Follow all of the action as it unfolds this afternoon with Sports Mole's live text commentary here.