LONDON -- Arsene Wenger expects both Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil to be available for Sunday's Carabao Cup final against Manchester City, handing a double boost to Arsenal as they look to "create a surprise" against Pep Guardiola's team.
Both players have trained in recent days but were kept out of the squad for Thursday's Europa League game against Ostersunds, with Ramsey coming back from a groin injury and Ozil struggling with an illness this week.
"I have to make a decision on Ramsey. He looks to be available, but he'll have another test today," Wenger said. "[Ozil] had a good session yesterday that he absorbed well. We have to see how he responds to it today but I think he'll be all right."
Arsenal beat Man City in last season's FA Cup semifinals at Wembley Stadium on their path to the trophy but are still viewed as big underdogs against the Premier League leaders. City are 27 points ahead of sixth-place Arsenal in the league standings, but are coming off a shock loss to Wigan in the FA Cup.
And Wenger knows well that the favourite doesn't always win this competition, having lost the final in 2011 to Birmingham City.
"I think we'll be more in a position where Man City is favourite this time, so of course we have to raise our level to create a surprise," Wenger said. "What matters to me is that we go into the final with absolute desire to win it, that we perform on the day and that we go home having done our job well. That is, of course, to win the game.
"Everybody expects a very exciting game and I feel it will be because we have two good teams there who will go for it. That's a good opportunity for us to show that we have that level on Sunday."
Arsenal are looking to shrug off their dismal performance in the 2-1 loss to Ostersunds that still saw them advance 4-2 on aggregate with Wenger set to field his strongest lineup at Wembley.
That means Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal and Shkodran Mustafi should all return, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is available to start up front. The former Borussia Dortmund striker is cup-tied in the Europa League and Henrikh Mkhitaryan is ineligible Sunday after appearing in the competition for Manchester United.
"I left a few players out last night, so the team will be different," Wenger said.
The Arsenal boss called on his players to "go forward and play our offensive game" against City but also admitted that his defenders will have their hands full trying to stop the likes of Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne.
"One of the big strengths of Man City is De Bruyne, of course, because he has become a very complete player," Wenger said. "He is a modern midfielder for me, he can be decisive in the final third, he works very hard, he is right-footed, left-footed and he is a fighter as well, so overall, I am not surprised.
"They have so many players that you think you have to stop that it is better to focus on the team plan than rather than on any individual."
The Carabao Cup is the only domestic competition that Wenger has yet to win in England after having also lost the 2007 final to Chelsea. He has a record seven FA Cups to go with his three league titles and will be playing in his 13th major final overall with the club, but he said he still gets nervous ahead of a big game at Wembley.
"Yes, there is a tension. But more motivation," he said. "The advantage of playing many finals is that I know how big a day it is. Wembley is always special because the stadium is divided in two. It's a special day and no matter how many fans you have played in front of in your life, it's always a special day."
The Frenchman also urged fans to "be patient" with the VAR system that will be used for the final, which allows referees to consult video replays on big decisions.
The system has been introduced in English cup games this season but has sometimes caused confusion in the stadiums as fans haven't always realised why there is a break in the action.
When told that a message will be shown on the video screens at Wembley to inform fans when VAR is being used, Wenger quipped: "What will it be? 'Be patient please'?
"Why do I say that? Because you want, of course, that the technology is providing better decisions but accommodating as well to the fact that people have less patience than before, and the game has to be speedy and the decisions have to be quick. That's what people demand. We are in the early stage of the usage of VAR and we want slowly to combine better decisions without restricting the speed and the pace of the game."