Arsenal's troubled England defender Sol Campbell is being rested for the Premiership match at Birmingham City on Saturday.

"Sol Campbell won't play," manager Arsene Wenger told the club's website after the defender was substituted at halftime in a 3-2 home defeat by West Ham United last night.

Campbell, who has lost both form and confidence, was given a day off from training this morning following his mistakes that left Arsenal trailing 2-0 against West Ham at Highbury.

Meanwhile, West Ham manager Alan Pardew has set his sights on European qualification following his team’s win at Highbury.

The Hammers have surprised everyone, themselves included, by making such a strong return to the top flight this season — and last night’s Highbury success pushed them up to ninth place.

Pardew is making no bold claims that Hammers fans will definitely be needing their passports next season but insists it is nevertheless a legitimate aim.

He said: "I didn’t think I would hear myself saying this, but it is a realistic opportunity for us and we have to try to grasp it. You have to look at the power of the squad and how they have coped with the Premiership. If we were winning games, as perhaps we did last night, by hanging on and trying to steal things on the break then I would say Europe was unrealistic.

"But we haven’t done that. In 75 per cent of our games we have controlled possession and had the lion’s share of it — and we have won games on top of that. So the signs are there that we can do it. I wouldn’t sell the players a goal I didn’t think was achievable for them. This is a big long-shot but something we can have a go for."