Arsenal suffered a shock 2-1 defeat away to Newcastle United in the Premier League on Sunday.

The Gunners away form has been pretty horrendous of late, the North London based outfit have now lost five successive away games in the league.

The latest loss comes off the back of an impressive showing in the Europa League, eliminating CSKA Moscow 6-3 on aggregate.

Arsenal will take on Atletico Madrid next in the semi-finals and it seems Arsene Wenger will prioritize the tournament.

Mesut Ozil did not feature for the second Premier League game in a row, despite training with the team midweek and playing against CSKA on Thursday.

The playmaker of Turkish origin was not the only star player not to feature against the Magpies as Laurent Koscielny, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey were also left out.

Arsene Wenger addressed why so many star names were absent. It turns out Ramsey was injured but that the others were rested.

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“Some were injured and some were rested because they had not recovered from the number of games we have played recently,” Wenger in his post-match press conference.

“Ramsey had a wound so couldn’t get into any contact, the rest are little knocks – the recovery tests were not good enough.”

It appears Wenger is saving his star players for the Europa League as winning the tournament is the best chance Arsenal have of booking a place in the Champions League next season.