Bolton will be harder to beat without Gary Cahill, says Arsene Wenger

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Arsenal had a £7million bid rejected for the 26-year-old England centre-half in August, while Tottenham also failed with a deadline-day bid
Owen Coyle's side struggled badly as Cahill's form appeared to be affected by speculation over his future before he moved to Chelsea last month.

Bolton have won all three matches since Cahill left and host the Gunners at the Reebok this evening with Wenger warning his team to expect a stern test of their top-four credentials.

He said: "Owen is doing very well - I always felt that Bolton would recover because they have the basic quality. If you look at the players, you felt they would come back.

"They have maybe been destabilised by the Cahill case but that is sorted out now. That might be a bit easier for them.

"They are better than their record suggests. It will be a competitive game. No matter who you play in the Premier League, whether it is first or last, you have a competitive game.

"If you don't really produce a top-class performance you don't win the game. Our target is to continue what we did against Aston Villa."

Sunday's 3-2 FA Cup fourth-round victory over Villa featured a return to action for Bacary Sagna, following four-months out with a broken leg, and there was more good news for the club as Kieran Gibbs returned to full training but he is not expected to play until the weekend.

The improving injury situation convinced Wenger not to bring in a defender during the transfer window but the Gunners boss believes the dire state of football's finances explains the relative lack of activity across Europe.

"I don't know if you have seen the numbers in Europe: 1.6billion losses, not debt but losses," said Wenger. "That is amazing. It looks like economically the whole of Europe is becoming more cautious."