Arsenal record signing Mesut Ozil may make his comeback at Hull on Sunday, having been sidelined with a hamstring injury since March.
The Germany international was forced off at half-time during the Gunners’ 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich in the Champions League round of 16 on March 11 and has not been out of action since.
The 25-year-old cost over £42million when arriving from Real Madrid but, after a bright start, has since struggled to make an impact in the Premier League.
However, manager Arsene Wenger believes that there is still time for Ozil to justify his hefty price tag.
“I think (Kieran) Gibbs will be out for the weekend but (Nacho) Monreal is possibly available and Ozil could be available to travel as well,” revealed Wenger at a press conference.
“Mesut Ozil is a fantastic football player and I would put him on the list to be player of the season next season.
“He had a period where he was tired because he was not used to playing through the season and he was a bit jaded.”
French midfielder Mathieu Flamini is back from suspension for Sunday’s visit to Hull, which is now a dress rehearsal for next month’s FA Cup Final.
Both Arsenal and Hull have only been allocated 25,000 tickets for the Final on May 17, and Wenger reckons that will take away from the usual atmosphere at Wembley.
“One of the charms of the FA Cup final was always that the stadium was really divided in two,” he said.
“It’s a shame that it doesn’t happen any more because that was always an absolutely fantastic atmosphere.”
Before that, the Gunners must concentrate on trying to seal fourth place in the table, and Wenger said:
“We have a big game at Hull. We just want to prepare as well as we can for it. I think mentally we are in a better shape than a week ago because we had two important wins, and that of course puts us in a better condition on the confidence front.”
With Everton losing at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday, Arsenal have been handed a golden opportunity to take advantage when the match kicks off at 2.05pm UK time on Sunday.
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