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Ozil misses Bournemouth trip with illness

Reuters

Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil will miss his second successive match after being ruled out for Tuesday's trip to Bournemouth with an illness.

Ozil, 28, was absent for a New Year's Day victory over Crystal Palace after Arsene Wenger confirmed earlier in the week that a few Gunners were dealing with the flu.

In Ozil's absence, Alexis Sanchez manned the No. 10 role in support of Olivier Giroud, with Alex Iwobi and summer signing Lucas Perez flanking the tireless Chilean.

With Sanchez's tendency to drift into wide positions, Iwobi often found himself in a central hole, where the 20-year-old Nigerian international made a good account of himself with a 56th-minute headed goal to cement the result.

For the trip to Dean Court, Aaron Ramsey replaces Perez on the wing, with Iwobi taking the No. 10 role and Sanchez on the left wing.

Hampered by a hamstring concern, Ramsey hasn't started a Premier League match since the mid-November draw at Manchester United, with the Welsh international selected ahead of speedy winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Tuesday's trip to the south coast.

Joining Ramsey in a return to the starting XI is Shkodran Mustafi, who like the former Cardiff City standout makes a return to first-team football after a spell on the treatment table with a hamstring injury.

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