Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck ruled out of FA Cup final

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Danny Welbeck will miss Saturday's FA Cup final against Aston Villa because of a knee injury.

The striker is also out of Roy Hodgson's England squad for the friendly against the Republic of Ireland on June 7 and the Euro 2016 qualifier in Slovenia a week later.

Welbeck has not started for the Gunners since the FA Cup semi-final victory against Reading last month.

"Roy was confident that he would be available but we called the FA yesterday to tell them that his knee has not healed and he had to rest. It is not a setback it just took longer than expected," Wenger told the Daily Mail.

Welbeck has netted eight goals for Arsenal this season.