Arsenal hero Lukas Podolski has jumped to the defence of Mesut Ozil.

The 31-year-old has become the main scapegoat for any of Arsenal's failings, but Podolski is adamant the situation is not down to the player alone.

"He's good enough (to be their man man) with support from the coach and the team, but something has happened with the club, you can feel that," Podolski told the Athletic.

"Is he in a disagreement with the club? When I talk to him, we don't want to talk to him about that kind of stuff. It's his situation, him and his agent have to deal with that.

"He's a good character — he's not an a**hole. He doesn't do interviews where he speaks badly of his team-mates or of Arsenal and it's a shame we have this situation because everyone is losing.

"Ozil is sat in the stands, Arsenal are paying him and there is no winner."