Wenger optimistic Ozil will overcome illness ahead of Liverpool clash
Manager Arsene Wenger is confident Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil will recover form an illness in time to feature against Liverpool.
Ozil was initially feared to be unavailable for the match, having missed Thursday's training after coming down with an unspecified illness.
Although he wasn't willing to disclose whether Ozil will feature in the starting XI, Wenger expects the Germany international to overcome the illness in the next two days.
"We'll see, I don't know. He should be OK," Wenger said.
Wenger added that his side could also be boosted by the return of Aaron Ramsey and Laurent Koscielny after confirming to reporters, according to Mattias Karen of ESPNFC, that the pair will be available for selection ahead of Saturday's match at Anfield.
"We have Aaron Ramsey back in the squad," Wenger said. "He's back in full training. Laurent Koscielny, who we lost at Bayern Munich, is back in full training as well."
Both players managed to return to training earlier in the week after overcoming their respective injuries. Ramsey hasn't featured since the end of January because of a calf knock, while Koscielny was forced to leave during Arsenal's loss against Bayern Munich on Feb. 15 after injuring his back.
The possibility of Santi Cazorla - who has been out injured since October - playing again this season was also addressed, with Wenger adding credence to reports that the Spain international will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a setback during his effort to recover from a foot injury.
"We are now at the beginning of March, so it is very difficult to predict," Wenger said. "When you think that when a player starts to train after such a long time out, you have at least six weeks to be competitive for a place in the team.
"If you add six weeks today, we are already at mid-April so that means it will be short for him now."
Arsenal will attempt to win at Anfield for the first time in three years, while Liverpool - who beat Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in August - looks to bounce back from a decisive 3-1 loss to Leicester City on Monday and secure just its second Premier League win of 2017.