Arsene Wenger will be keen to end a trend of nine games without a win against Jose Mourinho, and to do so, he will need his record signing to start.
Since joing The Gunners, Ozil has had a positive effect on the team, but the German is showing signs of fatigue. “In Germany and most of Europe they have Christmas off and at some stage I will have to give him a break,” Wenger said. “But Monday night? No.”
With Chelsea having an awkward spell of form, the Arsenal boss sees the clash as a golden opportunity to beat Mourinho and end the nine game trend. “We’ve had a couple of disappointing results but we have been in much more difficult situations,” he added.
“I knew we could perhaps be in trouble against Man City, having played three big games in six days, and three games the week before. Now we have had a little breather.”
Wenger knows that now is a crucial time to be picking up wins as they face very difficult games in the lead up to their Champions League clash with Bayern Munich in February.
By Phil Wellbrook
