Henrikh Mkhitaryan will miss the first leg of Arsenal's Europa League semifinal against Atletico Madrid, Arsene Wenger has confirmed, while Mesut Ozil remains doubtful because of flu. According to ESPN, Mkhitaryan damaged a knee ligament against CSKA Moscow in the quarterfinals last month, but Wenger had said last week that there was a chance he could return for Thursday's match against Atletico.
However, he ruled out that possibility following Sunday's 4-1 win over West Ham in the Premier League.
"Mkhitaryan won't be available on Thursday," Wenger said, dealing a big blow to Arsenal's chances.
Ozil and Jack Wilshere also missed the West Ham game, but there was mixed news about the midfield duo.
"Jack had a training session [on Sunday] and he looked positive so he has a good chance to be available for Thursday," Wenger said. "Ozil was [out with] sickness so I cannot tell you much more about that. We will have to see how he recovers [on Monday]."
