AARON RAMSEY is set to miss Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Manchester City.
The Arsenal midfielder has been struggling with a persistent groin injury and has already been ruled out of tomorrow’s Europa League clash with Ostersunds.
And though he has been working hard in training to prove his fitness for Wembley, boss Arsene Wenger is unwilling to gamble on the Welsh star.
Ramsey’s absence will be a major blow.
He has scored FA Cup-winning goals in Wembley final triumphs over Hull and Chelsea.
There is an outside chance he could be on the subs’ bench, but his lack of match fitness will prevent him from playing a major part.
Ramsey, 27, has started just two of Arsenal’s last 16 games due to hamstring and groin injuries. He suffered his latest setback after scoring a hat-trick in the 5-1 win against Everton at the start of the month.
Wenger is likely to rest a number of senior players against Ostersunds to keep them fresh for Wembley.
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Arsenal hold a 3-0 lead from the first leg in Sweden last week and will not take any risks in the return game at the Emirates.
Mesut Ozil, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal and Hector Bellerin are all expected to be given the evening off, with Wenger relying on the squad players who have already shone in Europe this season.
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Meanwhile, Arsenal will wear their traditional white shorts in Sunday’s final after the Football League ruled that there will be no colour clash with Manchester City.
The Gunners were originally ordered to wear an all-red kit to avoid a replication of City’s white shorts.
But they changed their decision after it was pointed out the teams have met many times with both wearing white shorts without any identification problems.
An EFL spokesman said: “Arsenal were initially scheduled to wear red shorts.
“But it is the shared view of the EFL and the clubs that both teams should be able to wear their recognised first-team colours in such an occasion as a major domestic cup final — so long as it doesn’t cause problems for the match officials.”
Gunners No 1 Petr Cech expects to be on the bench this weekend as David Ospina continues in goal.
The 29-year-old Colombian has played in every round of the league cup this season.
Cech, 35, has won the competition three times with former club Chelsea but a winners’ medal this year would come as part of Wenger’s squad rather than in a starring role.
He said: “I will be there with the team supporting but I don’t expect to play — it was clear that it was always going to be like that.”
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