​Wenger issues rallying call to his Arsenal squad

Arsene Wenger has called on his Arsenal players to show full-on commitment ahead of a crucial run of fixtures in December.

The visit of Sunderland begins a month of games that could define the north London side's success at home and in Europe. It begins with Tuesday's trip to Olympiakos, where Arsenal must win 3-2 or better to qualify for the knockout stages.

He told the club website: "[I'm glad November is over] because in the last couple of weeks we lost Francis, Alexis and Santi - basically three players in two games. That is of course too much, but hopefully we now have Theo not too far away, and Koscielny coming back too.

"I believe first of all it's always a disappointment to lose the players at an important moment of the season. But on the other hand, it's a great challenge to take for the team and a great opportunity to show that we are ready for a fight and we can deal with it.

"We prepared ourselves to go through periods like that, and I'm convinced the players are ready."