Arsenal won't sell Mesut Ozil or Alexis Sanchez, Arsene Wenger says
Thursday 8 December 2016 13:05, UK
Arsene Wenger says neither Mesut Ozil nor Alexis Sanchez will be sold by Arsenal, even if they fail to agree contract extensions.
Both Gunners superstars - with 21 goals between them this season - are entering the final 18 months of their deals and Wenger remains hopeful of keeping both beyond 2018.
The Arsenal boss offered "no assurances" to supporters but, speaking ahead of Saturday's game against Stoke, he made it clear he is prepared to lose both for nothing.
"No matter what happens they will stay for 18 months and hopefully for much longer," he said.
Wenger did not not rule out the possibility Sanchez has a huge offer from China on the table but said: "Why should you go to China today when you play in England?"
Repeated enquiries about the pair were dealt with politely, but the Frenchman insisted he "could not answer always the same questions at every press conference".
"You ask always the same things," he said "but that doesn't improve the speed of negotiations.
"You have to respect the process - sometimes it's quick, sometimes slow and the only handicap when it's slow is you get asked in every press conference."
Asked if the ongoing talks might have an affect on the Arsenal dressing-room he said Ozil and Sanchez remain "completely committed", adding: "We are professionals - 18 months is a long time in the game and I don't believe that is a problem."
Arsenal's final offer will be "the maximum we can do", according to Wenger, who said: "It's normal to negotiate. The less you talk about it the better it is."
