Ian Wright has claimed that Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez would “mess up the team dynamic” when Arsenal play Tottenham.

His view comes off the back of Arsenal’s 0-0 draw with Chelsea last Sunday, a game which neither Ozil or Alexis started. And ahead of the Gunners’ North London derby to come in November, Wright says he would keep Ozil and Alexis out of the side.

“If I had that team fit, (I’d stick with it) after what Ramsey said resonated with me,” the Arsenal legend told BBC Radio 5 live via the Express. “I think that team looks together.“Ozil and Sanchez will mess up the dynamics with what we saw the other day.”

An Arsenal team without their two best players seemed unthinkable until Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Chelsea. Arsenal had neither Ozil or Alexis, yet were arguably the better team in a hard-fought game.

Our solidity on the day can be owed to the excellent effort and discipline displayed by Alex Iwobi and Danny Welbeck, who occupied the positions Ozil and Alexis would usually take up. There’s now thought that this could be the way forward for Arsenal in future big games.

Arsenal’s next game against a top-six side is on November 5, when they play Manchester City away. After that, they play the first North London derby of the season at the Emirates on November 18.

You’d expect Alexis to be fully fit and starting games again by then, while Ozil’s return to the starting eleven is inevitable once he’s recovered from injury. While our tactics on Sunday were correct, the only reason those two didn’t play was because they weren’t fit enough.

One suspects that a single good performance without them isn’t going to suddenly convince Wenger not to play them at all.