Mesut Özil is expected to miss Arsenal’s clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, according to reports.

Arsène Wenger previously assured fans that Özil was only “rested” for FC Köln due to the two international matches he played over the break (via ESPN). However, now it seems he has trained away from team-mates and is expected to miss the match on Sunday, according to Express.

The rumours have been spreading throughout the media that Özil’s separate training session could mean he misses out, and Arsenal correspondent for Goal, Chris Wheatley who often has very good information, confirmed as much on Twitter:

Özil expected to miss tomorrow's game through injury #CFCvAFC

— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) September 16, 2017

This is anything but a good omen for the Gunners.

Arsenal have won three of their last four matches against Chelsea, and Mesut Özil played an important part in all three wins. In particular, in the only league win of the four, Mesut scored to put the Gunners 3-0 up at the Emirates.

In addition, Arsenal’s league record without Özil in 2016/17 was awful.

The German international missed five league games in that campaign, and Arsenal won only one of these, losing three. Those three defeats made up a third of the Gunners’ nine for the season.

Arsenal have put in a couple of good performances since the Anfield horror show, but losing one of their star players to injury ahead of the match is the last thing they need.