Both players have just six months left on their contracts.
As Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez’s contracts run down to their final months, the pair have been constantly linked with moves away from Arsenal.
It seems Sánchez will move to Manchester City, although Manchester United have reportedly tried to hijack the move. Speaking to reporters, Arsène Wenger said:
“It looks like Sánchez will not extend his contract, but we want to keep Jack [Wilshere] and if we have an opportunity maybe to keep Özil, the rebuild will be less deep than if all three left.”
Whether Sánchez’s move north happens this January or in the summer remains to be seen, but it’s likely that City will try to bring the forward to the Etihad sooner rather than later after Gabriel Jesus suffered an injury against Palace.
Özil, on the other hand, has found fewer suiters in the market. It’s only Manchester United who have been strongly linked to the playmaker. A move to Old Trafford would see the playmaker reunite with his old boss José Mourinho, under whom the German played his best football at Real Madrid.
But Wenger is confident that he will extend his contract at Arsenal:
“There is still an opportunity for him to stay. These guys want to win, and they want to make money as well. So they want a combination of the two that big clubs can give them.”
Arsenal have won three of the last four FA Cups, in no small part thanks to Özil’s contributions, but the Gunners are some way off winning the Premier League. However, Wenger is optimistic that his star man will stay in a bid to bring the Premier League trophy back to the Emirates:
“Incidentally he’s won trophies with us. So he wants to fight as well for the Premier League, that’s normal when you are at that level.”
A bit naïve, perhaps.
