Arsenal: Mid-table teams must be beaten; Henry on Ozil’s future; Alex Iwobi discussed

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Arsenal are still in the title race, but they will need to prevent any further slip-ups between now and the end of the season. They are currently eight points behind league leaders Chelsea, with a victory against Burnley today taking them to second in the table. This highlights how quickly things can change in this league, as the Gunners were outside of the top four only last week. Arsene Wenger believes that his side needs to avoid dropping points against mid-table sides as they attempt to push Chelsea all the way.

‘Last year, we dropped points against teams who finished between fifth and 12th. And for us this season it is very important that we do not drop points against them.’

Although the matches against the rest of the top six are important for Arsenal, it is the games against the other clubs in the league that could cost them in their title challenge. They picked up only one point against Everton and Bournemouth, which was a huge setback. If they had won both of those matches, they would now be only three points behind Chelsea and be in a great position in the title race. Arsene Wenger is correct in his comments, but his team must now show that they can be formidable over the coming months and challenge for the title.

Thierry Henry has been talking about Mesut Ozil to The Sun and he believes that the German could be the poster boy for the new generation at the club if he agrees to extend his stay in North London. The German is believed to be waiting to see if Arsene Wenger stays at the club beyond the summer before making his own decision.

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‘Mesut has won the World Cup with Germany. But at club level, he has only one title, with Real Madrid in 2012. He will be desperate for more. But he can do that at the Emirates.

‘That’s why I’d urge him to stay and become an Arsenal legend.’

The futures of Ozil and Alexis Sanchez are the big talking point with Arsenal at the moment, with both having only 18-months left on their existing deals. Thierry Henry is a club legend, but he did have to leave North London in order to win the trophies that he desired. Ozil is now reaching the peak of his career and he will be desperate to win major honours. Although Henry believes Arsenal can do that, they haven’t challenged for a major trophy in quite some time. Ozil can be forgiven if he does opt to leave and join a European giant.

Meanwhile, the Mail features more quotes from Henry, but this time the Sky Sports pundit is discussing Alex Iwobi. He believes that the attacking midfielder could become as good as Dimitri Payet in a few years and for that reason, Arsene Wenger is correct in not wanting to bring the West Ham player to the Emirates Stadium.

‘I don’t think Arsenal need a player like Payet at the moment.

‘They have Iwobi who could be like Payet in a few years’ time, he has been good for Arsenal playing through the middle.’

This is huge praise indeed for a player that has only been around the first team for little over 12-months. It is clear that Iwobi has a lot of potential and he has the ability to change matches with his unpredictable style of play, but to state that he can become as good as Payet may be premature. That said, Arsenal don’t have a great need to bring Payet into the club at this time as they are well stocked in the attacking midfield positions.

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