Unai Emery: 'Bournemouth too demanding for Mesut Ozil'

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has explained Mesut Ozil's omission from this afternoon's match against Bournemouth by admitting that the Cherries are too "demanding" for the midfielder.

Ozil was an unused sub during the Gunners' 2-1 victory at the Vitality Stadium, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi preferred from the start before Aaron Ramsey and Eddie Nketiah were brought off the bench ahead of the German.

The absence of the playmaker raised questions given past speculation regarding his relationship with Emery, and the Spanish boss revealed that it was a tactical decision to leave him out.

"We thought how we can do better in the match, a very demanding match with physicality and intensity," Emery told reporters.

Arsenal are expected to rest most of their first-team players when they take on Vorskla Poltava on Thursday too, having already sealed their place in the next round of the Europa League.