Arsene Wenger has announced that Mesut Ozil will be included in Arsenal’s Europa League line-up against Östersunds FK on Thursday and could even feature as a false no.9.

With Alexandre Lacazette sidelined after undergoing knee surgery this week and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ineligible to play in the Europa League, Arsenal are going to have to scrape the barrel when it comes to attacking options against Östersunds FK.

Interestingly, Wenger even says Ozil – one of the best no.10s in the world – could play as a false no.9 and Arsenal fans have their reservations. Not necessarily because of the position, although many believe Alex Iwobi is more suited to the false no.9 role, but because we want the German to remain injury-free.

“He will play tomorrow,” Wenger said at his pre-match press conference, reports Arsenal.com. “We want to do well in this competition. We played on Saturday, we play tomorrow night. 

“Over the weekend we have no game. So we have one week without competition. It’s important our players keep at the competitive level. 

“When you go in a competition it is to try to win it no matter where we are in the league. The pressure might be higher maybe but we try to go as far as we can. We go into direct knockout. We play a team who has come out of the group stage, so they are a good team.”

The 29-year-old has experienced knee problems this term and in such cold, snowy conditions, Arsenal fans are worried about him aggravating it when we desperately need to keep the playmaker fit.

Not only are Arsenal currently trying to not get themselves relegated from the Premier League, they’ve also got the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on 25 February.

Aaron Ramsey’s already a doubt, the last thing Wenger needs is Ozil being ruled out as well.

On Twitter, the general consensus on playing Ozil against Östersunds FK at all is: keep him safe.