Arsene Wenger admits he is worried about Mesut Ozil’s track record of illness after the German was ruled out of another match due to sickness.
Though the playmaker would almost certainly not have been used in the second leg of Arsenal’s Europa League round of 32 tie with Ostersunds, where the Gunners hold a 3-0 lead from the first meeting, Ozil is once again unavailable after two days out of training with illness.
Ozil is not expected to miss the EFL Cup Final against Manchester City, although Wenger would only confirm that he “should be ok” for Sunday’s game.
Since the start of the 2016-17 season Ozil has missed five games due to illness and Wenger sees cause for concern in his struggles.
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“His immune system is a bit in trouble at the moment,” Wenger said. “I hope we can improve that medically. I don’t know why.
“We came back from Ostersund on Thursday night, practiced Friday and Saturday, on Sunday they were off and since Sunday he was in bed.
“Today is his first session.”
Wenger added: “I would certainly have played him but because he was sick, he will have to work hard and he will not be involved tomorrow.”
Though Ozil will be rested with the final in mind not every Arsenal player will be so lucky. Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi will likely do battle for a starting spot on Sunday in Thursday’s second leg whilst Mohamed Elneny is another who could be needed for both games.
“[It’s] not ideal no but you never know,” Wenger said of some of his squad playing on Thursday and Sunday.
“Sometimes you think the players who you rest are the most tired when the game starts. Sometimes the guys who have played three days before look very sharp
“It’s more mentally sometimes that the players don’t recover. But overall they should.”
Evening Standard
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