Arsene Wenger has revealed that a "refreshed" Mesut Ozil will be back in the Arsenal squad for their Premier League visit to Stoke City on Saturday.

The £42m signing was heavily criticised for his missed penalty and perceived lack of effort in the Champions League last-16 first-leg loss to Bayern Munich.

He was left out of the Gunners' 18 for their 4-1 victory against Capital One Cup finalists Sunderland last weekend, which was an emphatic response to another disappointing European night.

However, he will return at the Britannia Stadium to boost an Arsenal outfit whose strength will depend on how many of their five injury doubts are deemed fit enough to feature in the Potteries.

Full-back duo Kieran Gibbs and Nacho Monreal are both expected to miss out and therefore Thomas Vermaelen could be rushed back from a calf strain to operate on the left side of the defence.

Laurent Koscielny is nursing a back problem, but has a good chance of taking up his usual place at centre-half, and Jack Wilshere should shake off a hamstring concern to compete for a start in midfield.

Mark Hughes has urged his Stoke side, who are currently only three points above safety, to follow West Ham United's example and go on a winning run which would take them clear of relegation trouble.

The Potters have performed well against the division's leading sides this season, boasting wins over both Chelsea and Manchester United, and their record against Arsenal will give them hope of another scalp.

The Gunners have only won once at fortress Britannia, where Stoke have lost just twice this campaign, since the Staffordshire team gained promotion to the Premier League in 2008.

Hughes is likely to stick with the majority of the starting XI that held Manchester City for 70 minutes last Saturday, but Robert Huth is nearing a return to fitness following knee surgery three months ago.

Should the German fail to recover in time to play against the Londoners, Marc Wilson will continue to deputise at centre-back. Liverpool loanee Oussama Assaidi is ruled out with a knee injury.

Recent form

Stoke: LDDWLL

Arsenal: WLWDLW

Possible starting lineups

Stoke: Begovic; Cameron, Shawcross, Wilson, Pieters; Walters, Whelan, Adam, Arnautovic; Odemwingie, Crouch

Arsenal: Szczesny; Sagna, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Vermaelen; Arteta, Wilshere; Cazorla, Ozil, Rosicky; Giroud

Sports Mole says: 1-1