Mesut Ozil has avoided a fine after being spotted in a nightclub just hours after missing the win at Newcastle through illness . Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has spoken to Ozil about the incident and insists he is satisfied with the £42.5million man 's explanation . Given he missed the clash at St James ' Park with a cold , his appearance at a Berlin nightspot raised eyebrows , but Wenger said : 'He went out for 30 minutes for a friends birthday , I was satisfied with his explanation . ' Arsene Wenger has chosen not to sanction Mesut Ozil for going to a Berlin nightclub hours after missing Arsenal 's Premier League clash with Newcastle United last month . Ozil explained to Wenger that he had attended a friend 's birthday and was only in the club for 30 minutes . Quizzed on whether he was getting soft on discipline , Wenger bristled : ' I ’ m not going soft on discipline . I ’ ve fined people when they work for us and don ’ t respect the discipline . 'On that front I don ’ t think you can stop anybody from wishing happy birthday to a friend when he is in his own country . ' Speaking ahead of Saturday 's showdown with Liverpool , the Frenchman confirmed that Mikel Arteta , Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain , Jack Wilshere , Mathieu Debuchy and Abou Diaby had all returned to training but were n't yet ready to make their return . Forward Danny Welbeck could make the side at the Emirates after missing England 's friendly with Italy on Tuesday with a knee injury sustained in the Euro 2016 qualifying win over Lithuania . Wenger praised Welbeck 's contribution to the side , despite scoring just eight times in 29 club appearances since his £16m move from Manchester United on deadline day back in September . When asked whether Welbeck had been unfairly overlooked for England , Wenger said : 'Maybe . I don ’ t overlook him personally because he ’ s played many , many games for us and I think he ’ s an important player who contributes a lot . 'Not only does he now score goals , but as well contributes a lot to the team work . He ’ s a team player and I believe technically he has improved a lot . Danny Welbeck could return to the Arsenal side for Saturday 's showdown with Liverpool after a knee injury . Wenger confirmed that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had returned to training after injury . April 4 Liverpool ( H ) April 11 Burnley ( A ) April 18 Reading ( Wembley ) FA Cup semi-final . April 26 Chelsea ( H ) May 2 Hull City ( A ) May 9 Swansea City ( H ) May 16 Manchester United ( A ) May 20 Sunderland ( H ) May 24 West Bromwich Albion ( H ) 'When you look at him now I believe that technically he is much more mature , more composed in front of goal , the quality of his runs is getting better and he has huge , huge attributes . ' The talk of the international fortnight has been about whether Welbeck will lose his place in the England side to Tottenham hotshot Harry Kane , who also found the net at Wembley on Friday night . Wenger said : 'We are not there yet . Harry Kane played one game and it ’ s good for England to have many options and to choose the best one . 'Welbeck until now has always been the chosen best one and I don ’ t see how on Friday night Roy Hodgson could change his mind . ' Arsenal have won their last six Premier League matches , leaving them third in the table , some seven points behind leaders Chelsea . But Wenger believes it is still a tall order to win the league despite their excellent recent form . Arsenal are currently seven points behind leaders Chelsea in the Premier League table . Wenger backed Welbeck to keep his England place despite Tottenham striker Harry Kane 's scoring debut . He said : 'We have the aspiration to win the next game and that ’ s quite good enough . After that , win the next one . 'What is mathematically possible you have to try to achieve but that doesn ’ t depend only on us . What does only depend on us in the final run is our performances and our results , so let ’ s focus on that . 'After that if everything goes for us , you never know , but you can only master your own performances so let ’ s focus on that and be realistic and continue to earn the right to win the games . That ’ s what we want . ' Martin Skrtel powered home a stoppage time header to earn Liverpool a 2-2 draw against Arsenal at Anfield . Mathieu Debuchy had earlier been on target for Arsenal when the teams met back in December . While Arsenal are unlikely to claim the title , they could put another dent in Liverpool 's top four ambitions , bruised after their 2-1 home defeat to Manchester United before the international break . Wenger said : 'Liverpool is a good side , there is always a good game at the Emirates and at Liverpool as well . ' I have a big respect for the club , but I am just focused on the game and focused to produce the performance we have produced recently , and make sure that the right commitment is there to win the game . '
Ozil will not be sanctioned for being spotted in Berlin nightclub . It came hours after missing match at Newcastle through illness . German star explained to Wenger that he was attending friend 's birthday . Arsenal play Liverpool at the Emirates on December lunchtime . Danny Welbeck could return after knee injury suffered on England duty . Gunners trail Premier League leaders Chelsea by seven points .