No one was too surprised when Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey’s names weren’t read out on the team sheets against Hull on Saturday but Arsene Wenger felt the need to explain his decision anyway.

Speaking after the 0-0 draw, the boss admitted that he did this because both players needed the rest after being relied upon heavily in recent months.

“I rested Ramsey and Ozil because they’ve played in a lot of games,” the boss revealed.

Indeed, Ozil has featured in 31 matches for us so far this season, while Rambo has appeared in 29 and considering how much work the midfielders do for the team, it stands to reason that they’d been needing a bit of a breather.

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LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 20: Arsene Wenger Manager of Arsenal throws the ball during the Emirates FA Cup fifth round match between Arsenal and Hull City at the Emirates Stadium on February 20, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

We missed them in our frustrating draw against the Tigers. Although we had the majority of just about everything, we needed that cutting edge and creativity to find the back of the net – usually something both players can provide.

Saying that, the most important thing at this point in time is to have all of our players well rested for our match against Manchester United in the Premier League.