Arsenal star playmaker Mesut Ozil is set to make his first Europa League appearance in eight years tonight.
The 29-year-old travelled with the rest of the Arsenal squad to Sweden for tonight’s encounter with Ostersunds FK.
Wenger has so-far decided to field a weakened side in the Europa League but has switched his priorities following the weekend defeat to Tottenham.
Ozil came close to winning the Europa League (under its previous name UEFA Cup) during his spell with Werder Bremen.
The 29-year-old reached the final back in 2010 but ended up losing to Shakhtar Donetsk. The game proved to be Ozil’s last in the competition as he subsequently made the move to Real Madrid where he became accustomed to UEFA Champions League football.
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“We are now in the direct knock-out stage of the tournament and the risk is higher. So we are playing a more experienced team than we did before,” Wenger stated at the pre-game press conference.
“We have no game over the weekend and it’s important to keep our players at a competitive level.”
Wenger also revealed that Aaron Ramsey will not feature in tonight’s game.
“He will certainly not be available for the return game against Ostersunds next week and I don’t know if he will be fit for the Carabao Cup final.
“Koscielny has had a problem with his Achilles and I wanted to rest Wilshere because he was severely sick before the game against Spurs and I left him behind as a precaution.”
Ozil will be playing in sub-Arctic conditions tonight on an artificial pitch in front of just 8,000 fans. The clash takes place at the Jämtkraft Arena while kick-off is scheduled for 18:00 (GMT).
