Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has disclosed that Mesut Ozil will return to the squad for Saturday’s trip to Stoke City. The Germany international was left out of the 4-1 win over Sunderland following a poor performance against Bayern Munich in the Champions League that saw the 25-year-old miss from the penalty spot.

Wenger responded to suggestions that Ozil had been dropped due to poor performance by insisting the midfielder was recuperating from a dead leg and has now confirmed that he will, along with Thomas Vermaelen, return for the meeting with Stoke.

The Gunners boss told reporters, “Vermaelen and Ozil are back in the squad, we have doubts over (Nacho) Monreal and (Kieran) Gibbs. “Ozil had a difficult game [against Bayern] and sometimes it’s good to refresh when you are under pressure.”