Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has issued an injury update on his squad ahead of this weekends encounter with Preston in the FA Cup.

The Gunners were held to a frustrating 3-3 draw by Bournemouth earlier this week and find themselves eight points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea after 20 games.

Wenger confirmed that Mesut Ozil will miss the weekend clash and that he has been sidelined with a throat infection. The Germany international missed both Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace and the draw with Bournemouth.

“He is coming in today, and will be assessed by the doctor but he has been in bed for two weeks so I cannot imagine I will involve him on Saturday,” Wenger was quoted as saying by Arsenal’s official website.

“It is flu, a throat infection – I don’t know exactly.”

Ozil has been in exceptional form with seven assists and nine goals in 23 apperances for Arsenal this season.

In other Arsenal team news Wenger confirmed that Santi Cazorla is still some way off making a full recovery. The experienced manager confirmed that he will not make an appearance for the Gunners in January.

“At the moment, he is far [from returning]. It’s not going as quickly as I imagined it, so certainly in January he will not come back,” Wenger said.

Wenger also confirmed that he will rest the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Petr Cech this weekend.