Jack Wilshere's return from an ankle injury has been delayed after he suffered a setback in his recovery.
Wilshere, who had been expected to fill the void left by Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri's departures, has yet to feature for the Gunners the season after being forced to undergo surgery in September.
The midfielder had failed to recover from a stress fracture he suffered whilst on international duty with England and he was left with little choice but to have an operation in September.
Arsene Wenger had hoped to welcome the 20-year-old back in January but the manager has revealed he is still experiencing some pain, which will be investigated by a specialist.
"Wilshere had a little setback which is under investigation," said Wenger.
"We don't know yet how bad it is. He has pain again in his ankle (when running).
"We stopped him right away. He is seeing a specialist today (Friday), so I do not want to give you any wrong information."