Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insists he has no concerns that mounting speculation over the futures of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil will eventually affect their form.
The pair have 18 months left on their current contracts with talks having stalled over demands that they are paid in line with the Premier League’s top earners.
Manchester United’s Paul Pogba receives English football’s highest salary on £290,000-a-week — more than twice Ozil (£140,000-a-week) and Sanchez (£130,000-a-week) earn — and the situation is further complicated by reports that clubs in China are willing to offer Sanchez anything up to £500,000-a- week.
According to London Evening Standard, Arsenal have offered both players extensions worth in the region of £200,000-a-week, but there has been no tangible progress for weeks.
Despite the situation developing into a saga, Sanchez scored his 14th goal of the season in Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat at Everton and Wenger gave short shrift to the notion there was any immediate need to address their futures.
“There is no concern [contract talk could affect their form], not at all,” Wenger told Standard Sport.
“You waste your time because these players have 18 months contract and I don’t see why there is any urgency in every press conference to have that question. Maybe you lack a bit of creativity in the newspapers and you always come up with the same subject. I don’t see why that should turn up in every press conference.”
Manchester City are among a host of clubs monitoring developments on both players, and Arsenal travel to the Etihad Stadium this weekend to face Pep Guardiola’s side with a one point advantage in third place.
Guardiola has faced a degree of scrutiny in recent weeks after a slump in form — Wednesday’s win over Watford was their first in four matches — and Wenger said: “Am I surprised about the criticism? Yes, because his CV is impeccable, and no, because that’s part of our game and modern life in our job.
“I expected that he would bring his philosophy through and you have to accept that he tries to do that. I respect the fact that he firstly has the philosophy and wants to play football that I respect. You expect him to put that print into his team.”
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