Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has revealed why Mesut Ozil missed the Gunners FA Cup clash against Portsmouth on Monday night.

The north London based club registered a comfortable 2-0 win over the League 1 side with Joe Willock starting in Ozil’s place.

Arteta also opted to leave Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out of his squad while Eddie Nketiah started up top.

READ: The Secret Life Of Arsenal Star Mesut Ozil

During the pre-game interview with BT Sport, Arteta addressed the two major absentees in his squad.

The Spanish tactician opted to leave Ozil and Aubameyang to give them a rest following a busy schedlue.

“We had some issues physically after the game, obviously it was a very demanding game, after 120 minutes we had some issues in the last three days,” Arteta told BT Sport.

“We have to adapt to that. The players that I have selected have been playing and they’ve done really well when they have been selected in the cup against Bournemouth.

“I have full confidence in them and hopefully they can show that tonight.”

Arsenal are back in action on Saturday when they host their London rivals, West Ham, at the Emirates stadium.

Ozil will be available for the weekend clash, the 31-year-old has registered just one assist and one goal in 17 Premier League appearances so far this season.