19 January,2016 08:01 AM IST | | AFP
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger hopes playmaker Mesut Ozil will be fit to face Chelsea after the German was forced to miss Sunday's goalless draw at Stoke with a foot injury
Mesut Ozil and Arsene Wenger
Stoke-On-Trent (United Kingdom): Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger hopes playmaker Mesut Ozil will be fit to face Chelsea after the German was forced to miss Sunday's goalless draw at Stoke with a foot injury.
Mesut Ozil and Arsene Wenger
Ozil is well clear at the top of the Premier League's 'assists' charts with 16, compared to nine for his nearest challenger, Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne.
And Wenger hopes the 27-year-old will overcome the injury in order to face the struggling Premier League champions at the Emirates Stadium next weekend after conceding he was missed during a stalemate in the Potteries. "There is no team in the world that wouldn't miss Ozil," Wenger said.
"We are used to having him there. If we had Mesut, it would have been a different game (against Stoke).
"Ozil has an inflammation of the foot. On Saturday morning he was not very well and he was already not 100 per cent at Liverpool," the veteran French boss added. "I decided to leave him out but I think he should be back for next Sunday."
Ozil's absence left Arsenal labouring at the Britannia Stadium, where they managed just three shots on target and found Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland equal to them.
