Tuesday 6 March 2018 18:51, UK
Danny Welbeck has urged his Arsenal team-mates to "be united" during their current tough run of form and says they know they should be doing better.
The Gunners have lost their last four games in all competitions - including a 2-1 defeat to Brighton on Sunday - with fans calling for manager Arsene Wenger to leave the club following the loss.
But Welbeck is hopeful that the squad can turn things around on the field, and although he admits that results need to be improved, believes the team need to stick together.
"As professionals, we know the results haven't been good enough and we need to doing a lot better than we have been doing," he told Sky Sports News.
"The fans are hurting, everyone involved around the club is hurting and we feel a lot of disappointment and that's something we have to put right. It's been a difficult period but going into the next match, it's something we want to turn into a positive result for us.
"I think you've got to be united in these situations. Unity is strength and division is weakness in this sort of period and I think if we can stay together and we stand up and fight, which is what we need to do at the moment.
"We are really good players so the quality will shine through if we do what's required of us.
"We are professional footballers and we know what we have done to get to this stage, how we can keep on getting better and how we can improve on the negative results we've had recently.
"We want to improve but you do go home and look at yourself and say 'how can I put things right?'. I think the minimum requirement is to stand and fight in every single area of the pitch and our quality will shine through in the end."
There have been rumours of a divide in the Arsenal dressing room, which Welbeck was quick to dismiss, and although he has stayed away from reading criticism of Wenger, he reiterated the need of unity.
"There's no split in the camp. I didn't even know about that story until now," he added.
"I've not really seen much of the criticism. I can imagine it's not been great because with the results and being at Arsenal, it's not good enough so it's not something where I've sat down and read through newspapers and stuff but we know we should be doing much better than where we are.
"But I think if we stand together as players, as a team with the manager and the staff and everyone involved around the club, then unity will make us stronger."
Welbeck has had his fair share of injuries since arriving at Arsenal in 2014, but says he is now focused on moving forward and welcomes the competition that fellow forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has brought to the club.
"The injuries have derailed me in the past, but that's gone now and there's nothing I can do about that," he said.
"What I can do now is keep my mind set on looking forward, getting on the pitch, training and doing what I can do to improve myself.
"I'd prefer to play as a No 9 but when I'm on that pitch, I can play in any position and I want to make an impact regardless of where I am.
"[Aubameyang] is competition and I embrace it. Ever since I was a kid, I played for an academy that had scouts all over the world that are looking for top players to come in so I've had competition throughout my whole life.
"It only makes you better because without the competition, you might have a little bit of a slack off and it's difficult, but you know having that competitive edge gives you that extra motivation."
