Arsenal round-up: Shkodran Mustafi rallying cry; Lukas Podolski backs Arsene Wenger; Mesut Ozil compared with Tottenham’s Delle Alli

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Arsenal are now facing an uphill battle to finish in the top four places and qualify for next season’s Champions League. They have slipped to sixth position in the table after winning only one of their last five Premier League matches. It has been a hugely disappointing few weeks for the club and they now trail Liverpool in 4^th by seven points, albeit with two matches in hand. Shkodran Mustafi has been discussing the club’s position with Deutscher Fussball-Bund.

“We haven’t been playing to our potential. As a team we can use this international break to refresh and then start again when we go back,”

“When we meet up again in London we need to roll up our sleeves. We want to finish in the top four because Arsenal wants to be playing in the Champions League next year.”

The time for words has passed and although Mustafi is saying the right things, the supporters will want performances on the pitch. There has been a lack of effort from the entire team in recent weeks and that needs to change if they are going to qualify for the Champions League. The top six is at its most competitive this season and it is looking like the year that Arsenal misses out unless they improve drastically after the international break.

Lukas Podolski made his final appearance for the German national team on Wednesday and managed to score a wonder-goal to beat England. He had a spell at Arsenal for three seasons and he has put his support behind Arsene Wenger, telling Sky Sports that it will be difficult to replace the Frenchman if he does leave at the end of the season.

“Arsene Wenger is a good guy and a good coach. He built this club from nothing to now. It will be interesting what happens in the next few months.”

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“I don’t know who the guy is that can replace him. He is Arsenal.”

There seem to be differing views about Arsene Wenger from those inside the game and those in the stands. He is clearly a well-respected coach as a lot of his former players continue to support him after leaving. However, results on the pitch haven’t been good enough this season and it is churlish to suggest that nobody can replace the Frenchman. There are a lot of good coaches across Europe that could reinvent Arsenal, but there isn’t a desire from the board to find them.

Meanwhile, Lee Dixon has been discussing Mesut Ozil and compared the German with Dele Alli. The two players are seen as integral to their respective sides in North London, but the former Arsenal full-back believes that the German creative midfielder would be a much better player if he possessed the aggression that Alli has. The following quotes were reported in the Mirror:

“If [Mesut Ozil] had half of what Dele Alli has got, that nasty streak, he would be ten times a better player than he is because he hasn’t got what Dele Alli has.”

One of the reasons that Ozil is believed to be considering a move away from the Emirates Stadium is the unfair treatment he receives from the English media. He hasn’t been appreciated the same way that he is across Europe and these latest comments from Dixon reflect that. It can be good for a player to have an aggressive side like Alli has, but it isn’t required. Ozil is competitive and has managed to win the World Cup while playing for two of Europe’s biggest clubs. Although he doesn’t have a nasty streak, the German international has plenty in his game that Alli has yet to show.

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