Arsenal Suffer Injury Blow as Wenger Confirms Ramsey will Miss Derby Against Spurs

Arsene Wenger has confirmed Arsenal will be without two key midfielders, Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil, for the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur.

The Wales international has been on the sidelines since Boxing Day with a thigh injury and is yet to feature for the Gunners in this calendar year. The north London club's manager earlier admitted Ramsey would be fit to face Spurs this weekend.

However, Wenger has revealed the 23-year-old will miss Arsenal's trip to White Hart Lane. The Frenchman claims Ramsey is having difficulties in his final stages of the rehab, which will see him miss the north London derby on Sunday.

Ramsey joins Mesut Ozil after the Gunners' record signing picked up a hamstring injury during Arsenal's Champions League clash against Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena earlier this week.

The German international is set to be on the sidelines for the next six weeks. However, Wenger said he was not aware how long the Emirates outfit would be without the services of their star midfielder.

"We have had to defer his [Ramsey] comeback to full training a little so he is not available. He is having difficulties in the final stages of his rehab. It looks to be short-term," Wenger told Arsenal's official website.

"He [Ozil] is out. I don't know for how long but it is a hamstring injury. There are scans going on."

Ramsey and Ozil join Jack Wilshere, along with long-term absentees Theo Walcott and Abou Diaby, on the treatment bench.

With Ozil and Ramsey out with injuries, Arsenal have some relief ahead of their clash against Spurs. Wenger has revealed striker Yaya Sanogo and January loan signing Kim Kallstrom have trained with the squad.

Arsenal manager also gave an update on the left-back position for the north London derby. Wenger remains hopeful that either Kieran Gibbs or Nacho Monreal would be fit for the fixture against Spurs.

"Kallstrom joins the normal training group today and Sanogo too. I will have to decide if Kallstrom is OK to be in the squad on Sunday. I will see how he looks, it is not impossible. Kieran Gibbs has a test tomorrow but I am hopeful that Nacho Monreal will be fit. They both have a good chance," Wenger concluded.