Arsene Wenger has confirmed that both Mesut Ozil and Danny Welbeck will be part of Arsenal’s attack against Ostersund.
The Gunners will be looking to put the fixture to bed in Sweden this week,, but will have to do so with some key players missing.
Alexandre Lacazette has been ruled out for the next four to five weeks, while Laurent Koscielny, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey have all had to be left out of the squad, and with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang cup-tied due to a somewhat controversial ruling, we are left short of options.
This has left the Gunners boss to make a decision on who will be fielded in the starting XI, and Mesut Ozil finally looks set to make his debut in the Europa League, with the manager confirming him as one of his starting line-up.
Arsene said: “Yes, he will start. We want to do well in the competition.
“When you go in a competition it is to try to win it, no matter where we are in the league. The pressure might be higher but we try to go as far as we can. We go into direct knockout, so of course the risk is higher.
“We are ambitious in the competition, so yes we are more experienced than we were before.”
Eddie Nketiah and Danny Welbeck look to be his only options for centre forward, and the latter appears to have gotten the nod.
Wenger added: “Up front is where I prefer him personally. He has an opportunity to do well.
“From what I have seen [at training] today, he is sharper than for a long time.”
Is Welbeck better as a striker or out wide? Should Wenger have let Nketiah start instead?
Pat J