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Arsene Wenger has revealed Arsenal could see the return of Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song, Theo Walcott and Abou Diaby for Saturday’s game at home to Blackburn.

Arsenal have suffered in the absence of several key players in recent months, with the club exiting three cup competitions and drawing their recent Premier League games against Sunderland and West Brom.

However, Wenger believes that Fabregas, Song, Walcott and Diaby will all be able to take part in the game.

“They will all be available,” he said on Thursday. “I have not decided if they will start the game yet but they will all be available.”

Robin van Persie, Nicklas Bendtner and Aaron Ramsey have all suffered problems while on international duty, but Wenger is hopeful they will be fit for Saturday.

“Van Persie has a good chance,” he said. “He has a final assessment tomorrow but we believe he will be fit. It is a bruised knee.

“Nicklas Bendtner is in the same situation. He will have a test tomorrow on his ankle and we’ll see. In fact, we have a few players with tests tomorrow – Ramsey with his groin, Bendtner with his ankle, Van Persie with his knee. I will make a decision after training in the morning.

“We just have Denilson out. It is short-term. We have one or two players with question marks but all the other players will be available.”

Thomas Vermaelen, Lukasz Fabianski and Wojciech Szczesny all remain sidelined.

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The Premier League has announced it will launch a new campaign designed to improve the behaviour of both players and managers towards match officials next season.

The initiative was approved unanimously by a meeting of club chairmen on Thursday, and Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore later confirmed that the crackdown will attempt to address recent “unacceptable” behaviour that referees have been subjected to.

The most high-profile incident relating to match officials this season saw Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson banned for five matches after criticising Martin Atkinson following a defeat to Chelsea at the start of March. Scudamore hopes to avoid similar incidents in future.

He said: “The clubs unanimously backed the idea that at the start of next season we want to raise the bar, we want to improve behaviour. I think we do need to concentrate on the player and manager relationship with the referee this time, as every one of us knows that there have been elements of unacceptable behaviour.

“As to what we think is unacceptable; it’s vitriolic abuse towards match officials and that has on occasions gone unpunished; the surrounding of referees is unacceptable; the goading of referees into trying to get opponents sanctioned we think is unacceptable; and also the undue criticism, where it spills over into questioning the referee’s integrity or his honesty is also unacceptable.”

Scudamore said the League Managers’ Association had expressed its support for the new campaign. The Premier League will also consult the Football Association, the Professional Footballers’ Association and the body that represents match officials in order to crystallise plans.

He added: “We are at a point in the game where we do have to rein back from some of this undue criticism of match officials. The debate will come and we will have it in consultation with managers, and remember the managers are also employed by the clubs so the unanimous support of the clubs today is important.

“Footballers enjoy a privileged life. The contrast between what is happening in their world and what is happening in the rest of Britain, and indeed most of the world, is getting starker. Whether it is realistic or not they can’t entirely be perfect role models, they are young males and boys can behave badly from time to time.

“But there is a point where extra responsibility comes with the territory. There are so many good things about what footballers do, so this is not us demonising them. But the mood is that things could improve.”

The FA launched its own Respect campaign in the 2007-08 season and despite various setbacks, the governing body says bookings for dissent across the top four divisions dropped by 9% in the 2009-10 season, with referee numbers rising by 7.4%.

The Premier League says bookings for dissent in the top flight have decreased by 20% year on year over the past two seasons.

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Neymar has rejected the Scottish Football Association’s request of an apology, claiming he never singled out their fans when complaining of racist abuse in Brazil’s friendly with Scotland.

A banana was thrown onto the pitch during Brazil’s 2-0 victory in London on Sunday, prompting Neymar to speak out against racism after the match, but it has since emerged that a German tourist threw the fruit and not with a racist intent.

But the way Neymar phrased his allegations could be taken to imply the Scottish supporters as a group, who jeered the striker throughout but only in response to his perceived play-acting, were singling out the goal-scorer in a racist context.

That prompted SFA chief executive Stewart Regan to write to the Brazilian federation (CBF) to request an apology for the Scotland fans, which he said would be welcomed either from Neymar or from the federation.

However Neymar has now claimed he did not single out Scottish fans as a guilty party after the match, which was played at the Emirates Stadium in London, and consequently stated he will not be retracting his remarks. Neymar posted a statement on his official website on Thursday, explaining his position.

He wrote: “I was surprised on Thursday by a letter from the Scottish FA, in which they demand an apology from me or from the Brazilian Football Confederation regarding the incident involving a banana thrown toward the field during the Brazil v Scotland friendly on Sunday, March 27. Stewart Regan says that the ‘accusations’ made after the match cast doubt on the reputation of ‘good-humoured and respectful’ Scottish fans.”

Neymar adds: “At no time, even at the end of the game, still enveloped by the thrill of scoring the two goals that won the game, did I accuse any person or any group of supporters, of whatever nationality, of having committed such an act. All the interviews I gave at the end of the match, in Portuguese, are available for consultation with media companies that covered the friendly.

“Yes, I did lament the fact, condemn any and all prejudice, but I repeat, at no time did I accuse anybody. So I do not understand why I have to retract what I said. The requirement from the Scottish, after all that happened, seems somewhat ironic, since, if there has been prejudice, it is us, the players, who should ‘require’ a formal apology.”

Neymar stressed he had declared the matter closed in his post-match interviews.

He added: “I spent a great time with my family in the UK and even stayed a day longer than planned. I only have praise for the way I was treated at every place we visited. The hospitality my family was offered was an honour for us. They were unforgettable days. That said, for my part, I consider the matter closed.”

Speaking after the game, Neymar had said the banana incident was “sad” and claimed he was the subject of vocal abuse from spectators, which he felt was racist.

He told Brazilian television channel Sportv on Sunday: “The entire stadium was jeering. This atmosphere of racism is totally sad. We leave our country to play here and something like this happens. It’s sad. I’d rather not even talk about it, to keep the subject from escalating.”

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