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LONDON -- Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has said he will make a late decision on whether to start Mesut Ozil at Watford on Saturday. Striker Olivier Giroud is again likely to be on the bench because he is still short of full match fitness. Ozil and Giroud have been eased back into action after their European Championship campaigns and came on as substitutes at Leicester last weekend after being rested for defeat to Liverpool. Asked whether Ozil would start at Watford, Wenger said: "He's not far now. That's a decision I have to make in the next 24 hours. Giroud is still a little bit behind physically." If Giroud does not start, Alexis Sanchez may get another chance to play as the central striker despite having failed to impress there so far. Santi Cazorla played in Ozil's normal playmaker role against Leicester but could drop into a deeper role -- possibly alongside new signing Granit Xhaka -- if the Germany international returns. Wenger has been criticised by some pundits for resting big names as the Gunners stumbled out of the blocks with just one point from their first two games. His decision-making was also questioned by Wales manager Chris Coleman after he played Aaron Ramsey against Liverpool only for the midfielder to suffer a hamstring injury. But Wenger said Wales star Ramsey had had the chance to take more rest because he missed his country's Euro 2016 semifinal through suspension. "He was out basically two weeks before Ozil and [Laurent] Koscielny and Giroud," he added. "That's the only reason. And he had the needed preparation time." Wenger acknowledged that Arsenal needed a win going into the international break. "We have shot ourselves in our foot, so we have to respond very quickly because, when you look at the other teams, they've taken more points," he said. "We need a first win after our game at Leicester. Of course the international break comes too soon, because the players that go away with their national teams are not ready yet to start for us in the Premiership, because we had to rest them because they played international games. "Not everybody is up to speed completely -- we still have some players who are a little bit behind."
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