Arsenal v Ostersunds preview: Henrikh Mkhitaryan to start

Henrikh Mkhitaryan will start the second leg of Arsenal's Europa League round-of-32 tie against Ostersunds at the Emirates on Thursday (kick-off 8.05pm).

The Gunners are looking to protect a 3-0 lead from the first leg in Sweden and progress into the last 16 of Europe's second-tier competition.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Mkhitaryan, who joined the club from Manchester United in January, will feature in the tie as the Armenia international is ineligible for Sunday's Carabao Cup final against Manchester City having played for Jose Mourinho's side earlier in the competition.

Mesut Ozil played the whole 90 minutes of the opening leg against Ostersunds in sub-zero conditions.

However, the German will be absent this time around due to illness, although Wenger believes the player will be fine to feature in the Carabao Cup final, live on Sky Sports.

"Mesut was sick," said the Frenchman. "Today (Wednesday) was his first training session. He was in bed on Monday and Tuesday with sickness. I would certainly have played him, but he was sick.

"He will have to work hard and he will not be involved tomorrow. He should be OK for Sunday."

Meanwhile, Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey trained with his team-mates on Wednesday morning, but a groin injury means he misses out against Ostersund and is still a doubt for the weekend clash with Man City.

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"He's not in the squad tomorrow," Wenger confirmed when asked about the Welshman's availability in his pre-match press conference.

"He had a good training session but he's a bit short for tomorrow (Thursday). We'll see how his evolution goes now from today until Sunday.

"I don't rule him out yet, it depends on how well he can improve with the intensity of training until Sunday."

Team news

Ramsey (groin), Ozil (illness) and Alexandre Lacazette (knee) definitely miss out, while Wenger has confirmed David Ospina will continue in goal and Mkhitaryan - who is cup-tied against City - and Danny Welbeck will start.

Opta stats

• The Gunners have won their previous two home European matches against Swedish opposition, beating IFK Göteborg in March 1980 and AIK in September 1999
• No Swedish side has won an away European match in England since Östers IF beat Spurs in the 1995 Intertoto Cup (P6 W0 D2 L4 since)
• In European competition, Arsenal have been eliminated from just one of their previous six knockout ties in which they've won the first leg, losing on aggregate to Barcelona in the Last 16 of the 2010/11 Champions League
• At the Emirates, the Gunners have lost just one of their last 27 matches, winning 22 and drawing four since a 5-1 defeat to Bayern Munich last March
• Only five English managers have won at the Emirates in all competitions (Alan Curbishley, Phil Brown, Harry Redknapp, Michael Appleton and Garry Monk), with only Appleton doing so in a non-Premier League match (February 2013, Arsenal 0-1 Blackburn in the FA Cup).
• Mkhitaryan has assisted four goals in his first four Arsenal game, including three in his only previous appearance at the Emirates against Everton
• Since the start of the 2015/16 season, only Aritz Aduriz (29) has had a hand in more Europa League goals than Mkhitaryan (14, 8 goals, 6 assists)
• Three of the five teams to win on their first visit to the Emirates have done so in a European competition (Schalke, Bayern Munich and Monaco) - the others are West Ham and Hull City

Live Carabao Cup Final

Charlie's prediction

I think Arsene Wenger will have to play two or three regulars and then it will be the kids for a stroll in the park, having won the first leg comfortably.

He won't want to play anyone who is going to play in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday but he might be forced to have a couple of bigger hitters on the bench.

I like the look of the young lad Eddie Nketiah in the Carabao Cup but he hasn't had a sniff in the Premier League because the first team go through hardships. It's like the young lads get punished for the senior players' failures.

I'd expect to see Danny Welbeck through the middle, Ainsley Maitland-Niles in his proper position and then Alex Iwobi maybe the only one who will threaten to start on Sunday. The kids will try to put on a show and they should have enough to win comfortably.

Charlie predicts: 2-0 and Nketiah to score first (14/1 with Sky Bet)

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