Arsenal have always been praised for their policy on wages.
The Gunners have never been a club to use their financial capabilities to attract players, and they’ve made it clear they won’t be held to ransom by current stars like Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil either.
Admirable though that may be, it’s also a case of knowing their limits.
Sanchez and Ozil are effectively asking for a combined £20million from their new deals, and that’s simply not viable.
According to the Telegraph, Arsenal have therefore made a decision. If they can only afford to keep one of them, it’s going to be Sanchez.
The newspaper claim that the club will start to listen to offers for Ozil unless he backs down over his wages, as he’s not thought of as irreplaceable like his Chilean team-mate.
Arsenal could buy in another playmaker if needed, but finding another goalscorer of Sanchez’ quality is going to cost more than they can realistically afford.
It’s up to Ozil to now decide whether he’s going to relent, or whether he’ll push for a move back to Real Madrid, as he’s hinted he may. Both players only have 18 months left on their current deals, so Arsenal need to start pressing forward or they risk losing them at a cut-price fee in the summer.
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