Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky makes first appearance in eight months during U21 draw with Swansea

Arsenal's Tomas Rosicky continued his comeback from injury on Friday 22 January with an appearance for the club's U21 side. The experienced midfielder featured for 45 minutes of a goalless draw with Swansea at Arsenal's traning grund London Colney, his first competitive outing since undergoing surgery on a knee injury sustained on international duty with the Czech Republic in May 2015.

After returning to first-team training last week, this was the next logical step in Rosicky's recovery and the decision to replace him with Marcus McGuane at half-time was part of the original plan rather than an indication that he had suffered any further setback. The 35-year-old's gradual return to fitness caps an unusually positive week for the Gunners on the injury front, with key duo Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez expected to return from foot and hamstring problems respectively for the visit of Chelsea on Sunday (24 January).

Arsene Wenger has also confirmed that Francis Coquelin is ahead of schedule in his own recuperation and fellow casualty Danny Welbeck is finally expected to resume training having not played since April 2015. The England striker also went under the knife after suffering damage to his knee cartilage.

In other Arsenal news, Glen Kamara has joined Southend on a four-month loan deal. The Finnish U21 midfielder, who made his senior debut with a start during the dismal 3-0 Capital One Cup fourth-round defeat at Sheffield Wednesday in October, will spend the rest of the season at Roots Hall as Phil Brown's ninth-place side look to cement a positive season back in the third tier by snatching a play-off spot. They currently trail Peterborough by just three points, although Posh have today boosted their own ranks with the permanent signing of striker Shaquile Coulthirst from Tottenham.

"I'm delighted to get the deal done." Brown told the Shrimpers' official website following Kamara's arrival. "Just like the others players we have brought in, I think it will help us improve significantly."