Martin Keown thinks the uncertain futures of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez are leaving a bad smell at the club.

Keown has made his feelings known about Ozil and Alexis several times this season. The two are out of contract in the summer, and he feels the ex-La Liga pair have been overindulged.

The Arsenal legend says the duo have made Arsene Wenger’s job very difficult, and that there’s a “bad smell” at the club due to their uncertain futures.

“The other night [against Chelsea], [Mesut] Ozil – it was the first time I realised how good a player he was,” he told talkSPORT. “He committed everything, he was quick, he was incisive in his play, and he was a different Ozil. He’s been holding back. I don’t want him at Arsenal if he is not going to commit to every match.

“Sanchez now looks like he’s trying to force that move out of the club. I just don’t like the feeling. There is a bad smell at the club and Arsene Wenger can never have been in a more difficult situation at the club, managerial. It must test him every day having to work in this situation.”

The idea that Ozil has been holding back is rather laughable given he’s played very well for Arsenal many times before the Chelsea game. With all due respect to Keown, it really shouldn’t have taken him over four years to realise the ex-Real Madrid playmaker and World Cup winner with Germany is a good player.

The former Arsenal defender went on to say that he doesn’t see Arsenal finishing in the top four this season, explaining: “We‘re five points behind Liverpool who look like they are improving all the time.

“I don’t see Arsenal making it into the Champions League and Tottenham might struggle to make it into those four spaces. Winning the Europa League might be the only way of getting in there and that might only come at the 11th hour.”

Arsenal do face a tough battle to finish in the Champions League spots come May. However, whether we qualify through the league or through winning the Europa League like Manchester United did last season doesn’t matter, so long as we return to the Champions League in 2018/19.

And while they’re still at he club, Ozil and Alexis will have a big part to play in that.