Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi has admitted that the ongoing uncertainty regarding Arsene Wenger's future makes things more difficult for the players.
Wenger has repeatedly delayed a public announcement confirming whether or not he will remain at the club beyond the end of his contract, which is due to expire this summer.
There have been a number of contrasting reports in the media which Mustafi acknowledged are hard to avoid, but the German centre-back insists that it is still down to the players to perform on the pitch.
"It is difficult, but we are professionals. We are not only paid for playing football but to be professional as well. It's part of our job to have a little bit thicker skin. But in the days that we live in now, it is difficult because you see it everywhere, on TV, then you have social media where you see a lot of things. Sometimes you don't want to see it, even when you want to just text with friends or look at pictures that your family posted or whatever," he told reporters.
"You get to see pictures that maybe you don't want to see and then you read them and it might give you a bit of thinking that you should not think about. We're professionals and we get paid for that as well, to be professional on that part as well, not only on the pitch. The most important thing is to close the ears and focus ourselves on what's happening on the pitch, on details.
"In the last few games, we have been having a lot of possession and playing with the ball quite well but then when it comes to details and concentration, we haven't been there. The most important thing is to get those details right and build up from the performance we had against Man City because I think we did quite well. We can go from there now and try to build up something.
"It is nice for everyone to talk about the manager and our situation because, let's face it, this is why football is big. But for me as a player, it is difficult to speak for all the team because I don't know what is going on in everyone's head but it is nothing I am worrying about. (Wenger) has been here for 20 years. He knows what he has to do. Now it is us players who have to go on the pitch and bring the performance - that's all we have to focus on.
"We have focus first on ourselves to do our jobs right and then as a team. We don't have to get into speculation and everything that is going on around us. It is the wrong time. We should just focus on what is happening on the pitch. If he says he is going to leave or if he is going to stay, is it really going to help or will it make it worse? Who knows? I prefer to concentrate on what is going on, on the pitch."
Arsenal will host West Ham United this evening knowing that victory would lift them back up to fifth in the Premier League table.
Barney Corkhill
