Mesut Ozil says Arsenal have not given up hope of qualifying for the Champions League this season, and believes Mikel Arteta can guide the north London side to a top four finish.
The Gunners have endured a difficult season after the mid-season sacking of Unai Emery, and currently sit 10th in the Premier League table.
Despite remaining unbeaten in all competitions since the turn of the year, a series of draws have hampered Arsenal's progress under Arteta, and the prospect of finishing in the top four seems remote.
But Ozil, who has flourished since the Spaniard replaced Emery as head coach in December, is confident that his former teammate can lead the club to a successful end of the season.
“Everyone knows," Ozil said, speaking to Dubai-based outlet The National.
“Even the players - let’s say that after 60 or 70 minutes, if that player’s changing, everyone knows now in which position they have to play or how [the manager] wants to attack or make a lot of pressure on the opposite team. This kind of stuff.
“So, right now, everybody knows tactically that we’re improving. It’s just two months that Mikel has been here, and we have improved a lot tactically.
“Of course, now it’s hard times for us. It’s difficult to say because right now everything is not going well, but we know if everything is going well, if the confidence is back and if we take the right results, we will end in the top four, in the top five.
“We have to believe in ourselves, believe in us as a team, to do what the coach wants.
"We’re in a good way; you see it as well on the pitch, everyone enjoys, everyone is happy. As a player, you have to be happy to give everything on the pitch.”
Ozil also refused to commit his long-term future to the club, and says he will wait to see what happens before deciding on his next move.
The 31-year-old's Arsenal contract expires at the end of next season, with the playmaker being linked with lucrative moves to Turkey and USA in recent months.
When asked whether Arteta's appointment would impact his future in north London, the World Cup winner refused to speculate on what could happen.
"After this season I have one more year, so after that I will know because I can’t see the future.
"The thing I can do is give everything for the team, for myself, to be successful and let’s see what happens.
"What I know is that I will give everything for this club, for my teammates. We’ve had a difficult season, but we want to win games again, to take points, to maybe be in the top four at the end of the season.
"Our goal is to be in Champions League. This year we had difficult times, but I think we’re in a good way."
