Arsenal hope Ramsey return will spark top four push

LONDON: Arsenal hope the return of Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey will spark their faltering campaign as they prepare for Sunday`s trip to Everton, a potentially vital clash in the battle for a top-four finish.

Ramsey was in sparkling form for the Gunners before suffering a thigh injury in December, having scored 13 goals in 27 appearances and spearheading his side`s title challenge. With hopes of a first Premier League crown since 2004 now a fading dream, Arsenal are in a fight to ensure a top-four finish and another appearance in the Champions League. They are fourth with 64 points, four ahead of Everton but having played a game more, and have picked up only two points from their past three matches, a run that included an embarrassing 6-0 loss to Chelsea in manager Arsene Wenger`s 1000th match in charge. After more than three months on the sidelines Ramsey, 23, returns to the Arsenal squad at a vital time, a welcome boost for a midfield suffering through the absence of Jack Wilshere and record-signing Mesut Ozil, even if Wenger warned against expecting too much in his first match back. "(When you`re out for) three months, then it takes two or three weeks," the Frenchman told a news conference on Friday. "He has worked very hard for a while in training now. What he lacks is competition. "He`s an all round midfielder who can score goals and always drives the team forward. He`s a real box-to-box player so it`s good to have him back. "It`s an area where we are short because we have many midfielders out. We have Wilshere and Ozil out in this area, so of course it`s good to have him back." Arsenal won the last match between the pair, a 4-1 FA Cup victory, and acknowledged the importance of Sunday`s game to both their top-four ambitions. "It`s an opportunity to go forward and as well an opportunity to make a distance with Everton," he said. "As I told you after the last game against Man City, we look in front of us and behind us as well. That`s what the game is about on Sunday. "Everton are a good side, that`s why they are where they are. I think in the first game (a 1-1 draw) we were caught just at the end. In the second game we won 4-1 and scored two late goals, so they were two interesting games. I think it will again be very interesting on Sunday. "For us it`s very difficult to imagine the impact it will have on finishing fourth, but it`s a game we want to win. Everton have won against Swansea in the last minute and they have a never-give-up attitude, which gives them credit." Left back Nacho Monreal is also back in the squad, while Wilshere, Ozil and centre back Laurent Koscielny remain out through injury.