According to former goalkeeper David Seaman Arsenal need to break the bank to keep Sanchez and Ozil.
The attacking duo have 18 months to run on their current deals and talks with Chilean Sanchez are said to have stalled.
The Gunners are said to have offered the 27-year-old £180,000-a-week, but it appears they may have to break their wage structure to keep him in north London and fend off interest from China and across Europe.
Meanwhile, Germany playmaker Ozil is reportedly holding out for a £250,000-a-week deal and talks are expected to restart in the new year.
And Sunday reports suggest Manchester City are preparing a January move for Gunners midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The 23-year-old also has 18 months left on his contract and The Sun claims there are no talks planned with the ex-
Southampton man.
“They need to break the bank to keep both of them – well all three of them,” Seaman told the
Weekend Sports Breakfast .
“What sort of signal is that going to send to fans and other teams [otherwise]? Is it ‘oh yeah we are not interested in winning the league but financially we are fantastic’?
“The fans are not interested in the financial side, they want to see the best players playing for
Arsenal. Whatever it takes, Arsenal should do to keep especially Ozil, Sanchez and the Ox as well – these are quality players.
“We used to be a team that would sell our best players. I thought we had gone past that and now the test is what sort of team are we now.
“Are we a team that lets its best players go or can we still afford to keep them?”
Arsene Wenger’s side finished second in the
Premier League last season and they look on course for another title push this term.
With a new system which sees Sanchez operate in a centre forward role, Arsenal have been impressive and lost just twice in the Premier League all season.
Seaman added: “I see a little bit more confidence in the players.
“The players they signed have come in and done really well, the squad for me is stronger – now when you look at the bench it’s strong as well.
“Even though we’ve got injuries, not too many, the bench is still strong and that is the main difference.”
