The hectic Christmas schedule is well underway and Arsenal are back in action this midweek.

It's a trip across London to West Ham for the Gunners and Arsene Wenger is set to preview the fixture this morning.

The Arsenal boss will address the media and reveal all about his side's current injury situation, while also likely touching on the other recent media reports.

Mesut Ozil is set to be the subject of new contract talks once again, while Olivier Giroud appears to be in a back-and-forth with his manager over where his future lies.

We will also expect some reaction to the Europa League draw, where Arsenal have been pitted against Swedish minnows Osterunds FK.

Follow everything that he has to say right here.

What did Wenger have to say?

A short round-up of all the key points.

  • Ramsey and Mustafi are out injured
  • Ozil’s contract talks are back underway
  • Wenger thinks West Ham will be a tough game
  • Giroud is not considered a sub by the boss
  • He doesn’t know much about Osterund
  • Manchester derby fracas is natural in heated environment
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That's all for today!

That’s all from Arsene Wenger today.

A pretty long press conference with plenty of good stuff covered.

A full round-up of all of his points coming up shortly.

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No comment on Sanchez situation

No comment on Sanchez.

He could be some way behind Ozil in terms of negotiations.

“I don’t want to talk about that because the best way to deal with this kind of thing is to keep it as discreet as possible.”

Giroud will get playing opportunities

Wenger says Giroud will get a start in the coming week.

Arsenal have a stacked schedule over the Christmas period.

“When you have three games in six days like this week, there will be an opportunity to start.”

Wenger wants Giroud to stay

Wenger says that he wants Giroud to stay at Arsenal until the end of the season.

“It’s not exactly what he said. That’s always the way you can interpret that.

“Personally, I want him to stay at the club until the end of the season then we will see.”

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Wenger expands on Giroud situation

Giroud will not be guaranteed football even if he moves, claims Wenger.

“Yes of course but first of all he played many games, much more than player say - more minutes since the start of the season than Lacazette.

“Nobody can guarantee you will play.”

How he's keeping players fresh

On how he plans to keep players fresh over the Christmas period...

“Today the players considering that 20, 30 years ago the players have better surrounding on the scientific, medical controls.

“We have more scientists around the team that protect them but there is a mental burnout too.

“The players are under huge pressure today and the resistance to stress is a big part of it.

“It’s a mental burnout a lot of the time. They lose confidence and have problems dealing with the competition.”

Southampton errors again blamed on United loss

Wenger has once again claimed that the errors against Southampton were because of a confidence issue.

“I felt that the goals we conceded at Southampton was the consequence of Manchester United.

“We were apprehensive and not confidence going into the game.”

Benteke situation is normal

Wenger is asked his thoughts on the Benteke penalty situation.

He says that it is a natural situation where big players want to take penalties.

“A penalty is a penalty. All the biggest players in the world have missed penalties. When you asked that question [Pires and Henry] were the first to my mind!”

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Ozil contract talks confirmed

Wenger has confirmed that negotiations are underway with Mesut Ozil over a new deal.

“Negotiations are always going on with everybody. Our door is always open.

“For the rest, I can not tell you much more.”

Wenger on the Manchester derby fracas

Wenger has given his opinion on the Manchester derby changing room fracas.

His former midfielder Mikel Arteta was cut in the situation.

“It is part of the intensity. It can go overboard. It happened to us. It happened to us. Hopefully you commit 100% to the pitch and are an angel after.

“I don’t know what happened really. It is difficult to take to see the 100 per cent celebration on the other side. It is an experience that’s a little bit offensive.

“That’s why I admired sumo in Japan because the guy who wins does not show his happiness out his respect for his opponent.

“Is it something we can copy? I don’t think so. It’s not part of our culture.”

Wenger says Giroud is "not a sub"

Olivier Giroud has not started a game all season in the Premier League.

But Wenger says that he is “not a sub”.

“No, he’s not a sub for me. He’s a very good player. I have plenty of good strikers. I cannot play them all together.

“I speak to all my players. It’s very hard to discuss what we speak about openly. You know enough already, you know?

“He’s a very important player. I have great respect. I am a great admirer of Giroud.

“Look how many French caps he has won here. He has not wasted his time.”

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Wenger on Arsenal conceding goals

On the goals that Arsenal have conceded this season...

“We are an attacking team so it depends how many goals you score.

“Overall, we want to improve our defensive record. We have just come back against Southampton.

“We had 70 per cent possession. The team sit back and refuse to play.

“Football has changed a little bit. The teams are better physically prepared and defend only. That was not the case 10 years ago.”

Moyes impact does not surprise

Wenger says that he is not surprised by the impact that David Moyes has had at West Ham.

“They had a good manager before with Bilic who did an excellent job but it depends on confidence and injury.

“I am not surprised [about Moyes].

“He has a big experience in the Premier League.”

Wenger expects West Ham to be in shape

Wenger claims that West Ham are in a better physical condition to his Arsenal stars.

“They had 24 hours more recovery time.

“They have a big advantage on that front. Physically, suffering in the third game. We will see.”

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More on Mustafi's condition

Mustafi might be back for this coming weekend.

He is getting closer to a full recovery and is already in light training.

“He is out training, running. The medical staff say he is not ready. Will he be ready for Newcastle? Maybe, yes.”

Tricky test against West Ham

Asked about the challenge of facing West Ham, Wenger expects it to be a tough game.

The Hammers beat Chelsea 1-0 at the weekend.

“It will be [a tricky test] because they were unlucky against City and will be confident after Chelsea. They will be a tricky opponent.”

Ramsey and Mustafi both out

A few injury concerns for Arsenal.

Shokdran Mustafi will not be back in time for the midweek fixtures.

Aaron Ramsey is also out of action with a hamstring problem.

“Mustafi will not be back.

“We lost Ramsey against Southampton. He will not be available for tomorrow’s game.

“Everybody else apart from the long-term injuries will be available.”

Ramsey’s problem is only a short-term one.

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He's here!

Finally, after all the waiting, Arsene has arrived.

Nearly half an hour late, but we’ll let him off.

We’re starting off with a question about Ostersunds FK...

“They finished 5th in the championship and are now on a break. I can’t tell you much more about them.”

Still waiting... so here's Cech!

You guessed it, we’re still waiting on Arsene.

While we wait, here’s come quotes from Petr Cech, who says that Arsenal must but out their slow start to matches in the Premier League.

“One thing that is really gutting is that we lost the game against Man United in the first 10 minutes,” the goalkeeper told the club’s official website.

“We could have been 3-0 down after 10 minutes again (at Southampton) and I think this is something we need to improve.

“In this league, if you give other teams the advantage in the first five minutes, you make it far more difficult for yourselves.

“We were lucky to get a point, even if we deserved to get one in the end, because we put them under pressure. But we wanted all three.”

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Still waiting...

As expected, we are still twiddling our thumbs for the moment.

He’ll be here shortly...

...we think.

Waiting on Wenger...

Arsene Wenger will be with us shortly.

He is scheduled for an 8:45pm start, but we all know that’s not always the case with Arsene.

The boss likes to keep us waiting!

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Arsenal closing in on N'Zonzi deal?

Arsenal have agreed a £35.3million deal for Sevilla midfielder Steven N’Zonzi.

That is according to Spanish outlet El Gol, who a deal to take the former Blackburn man to the Emirates could be tied up during the January transfer window.

The package would reportedly be made up of a £32.7million transfer fee, plus £2.6million in bonuses.

If the transfer fee were to be correct, it would fall around £2.65million short of N’Zonzi’s release clause, which Sevilla president Jose Castro insisted the club would hold out for.

More Arsenal transfer gossip here.

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Arsenal launch another bid to keep Ozil

Arsenal are making one last push to keep Mesut Ozil.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has not given up on keeping the 29-year-old Germany star, and the club are still hoping a new round of negotiations could persuade him to stay.

Manchester United and Barcelona are both keen on Ozil, who is out of contract at the end of the season and is able to sign a pre-contract with foreign clubs from January 1.

Arsenal have already offered him a deal worth around £275,000-a-week but have yet to make a breakthrough.

Ozil has made it clear it is also about winning trophies, not just finance — although he would also be able to get an even bigger deal as a free agent.

Read more here.

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