Monday 3 April 2017 16:23, UK
Thierry Henry and Graeme Souness have compared the performances of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez this season.
The Arsenal pair, who are out of contract at the end of next season, both featured in their 2-2 draw at home to Manchester City on Super Sunday.
Widely considered to be Arsenal's most talented attackers, Sanchez and Ozil have differing styles of play and have each been criticised at various points this campaign.
Sanchez's body language attracted attention in games against Bournemouth, Swansea and West Brom and he was dropped for Arsenal's defeat at Liverpool last month.
The Chilean was under the spotlight again on Sunday when he appeared to urge his team-mates to celebrate Shkodran Mustafi's second-half equaliser, while Ozil, who has not scored in any competition since mid-December, was largely ineffective.
On Sanchez, Henry told Premier League Daily: "People are quick to criticise him for his reactions. I was not one of those guys, you have to show some emotion at times.
"When you draw at Bournemouth - and no disrespect to Bournemouth - you are not happy. He wanted to win the game. And the same against Man City. It's 2-2, let's celebrate the goal, show some passion and anger.
"It gets the crowd going and gets everybody believing they can win the game. Some guys went one way, some guys went another way.
"This is the guy you want to play with and that's why I can't figure out when it became a problem for someone to want to win a game.
"I think Alexis Sanchez can be a leader but the other guys need to get to his level in terms of desire. I don't think many can get to his level in terms of playing because he plays in a certain way but his desire is second to none."
Souness said Arsenal have missed their opportunity to push on and compete with Europe's best teams and believes Sanchez has reached the same conclusion.
"Will he be looking at the bigger picture? He's 28 now," Souness said. "He is a player who plays with high energy. He's not a silky player that will be able to play a different style when he gets to 30. For him to be effective, he can only play one way and that's non-stop for 90 minutes.
"He will think he's got maybe three years left of being at his very best and in those three years he wants to be winning trophies. He will be looking and thinking, 'Will I be doing that at Arsenal?'
"I think he's come to the answer that no he won't be. That's a problem for Arsenal. How do you take this team to one that will challenge Bayern Munich or Barcelona for the Champions League or challenge for the Premier League title.
"In the last decade there were seasons when you looked at Arsenal and thought, 'They are only two or three players away.'
"But they never did that and they have drifted and that's why I think they will miss out on the Champions League this year."
When discussing Ozil, Henry said the German's achievements deserve respect but admitted his inconsistency can be frustrating.
"He can clearly play and last year everyone was praising him," the Sky Sports analyst said. "This year, he is struggling because he doesn't do enough on a daily basis.
"When he plays in an Arsenal shirt, sometimes it's not up to the standard of Arsenal. When he has a good game, he is unstoppable. He is a World Cup champion, he won at Real Madrid and he won two cups with Arsenal.
"But you need to play like that all the time. It can't be from time to time. I'm a big admirer of him and how he plays but if he was in my old team, I know a couple of guys would have had a go at him and maybe that's what he needs.
"In my old team, everyone talked. Sylvain Wiltord talked. Edu the same. Even Nkwankwo Kanu would have said something. Jens Lehmann, he was talking all the time. We had guys at it throughout the team."
Souness added: "He would drive you mad because you know that player has outstanding quality but you're not seeing it enough.
"Why do people play for the big clubs? If you play a seven or an eight out of 10 every week, you play for the very best teams. If you're a five or six you play for the middle teams and below in the Premier League.
"You could watch a game between Rochdale and Bury and come away thinking, 'That guy could play in the Premier League.' But he'll do that twice a season and that's why he is playing at Rochdale.
"There is no doubting the quality of Mesut Ozil, he is up there with the best on a good day. But does he have enough of those good days? No, he doesn't.
"And that comes back to Arsenal. Do they have enough good days? No they don't and that's why they won't win this league and are struggling to qualify for the Champions League."
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