Despite Per Mertesacker recently alluding to disagreements in the changing room at Arsenal, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain insists there are no cliques at the club.

The 21-year-old spoke highly of the squad and revealed that he believes part of being successful is the whole team gelling, staying together and ultimately getting on.

This contradicts rumours that players from a certain countries band together, opting to sit together at lunch and talk amongst themselves – something which apparently Per Mertesacker and Mikel Arteta were keen to stamp out when they first arrived.

“For me, it’s a surprise when you speak to lads at other clubs and you find out there are certain cliques within their dressing room,” the Ox said. “It surprises me because at Arsenal it’s not like that at all and it’s never been like that.”

He continued, “If you look at the best teams around the world, and Barcelona is the best example of it, they have grown up together and been together for so long. They know the club and understand what it means to the club and they know the way they need to play football for that club. And that just breeds success. At Arsenal we have built that and continue to build that.”

The idea that our team are close is heart-warming and I sincerely hope it’s true. As I’ve mentioned before, bonds within the team help massively, as they’re no longer just playing for the club or the fans, or even the manager. They’re playing for each other, they have each other’s backs and genuinely want to enjoy their success as a unit, rather than set friendship groups.