Wenger adamant Sanchez and Ozil will not leave Arsenal

Joe Wright

Wenger adamant Sanchez and Ozil will not leave Arsenal image

Arsene Wenger is adamant that Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil will not be allowed to leave Arsenal in the transfer window.

The future of the Gunners' star duo remains the subject of intense speculation, with both entering the final year of their contracts at Emirates Stadium.

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Sanchez has been heavily linked with Manchester City and Bayern Munich, while Ozil has also been tipped for a potential move away following Arsenal's failure to qualify for the Champions League.

But Wenger, who signed a new two-year contract to stay on as Arsenal manager this week, says neither player will be sold before next season begins.

"This summer, first of all they will stay at the club and hopefully we can extend their contract," Wenger told beIN SPORTS  when asked about Sanchez and Ozil's futures.

HD Mesut Ozil Alexis Sanchez

When pressed on whether they would leave, he replied: "No. You cannot weaken the club and weaken the team. You want to strengthen the team. Unless you find a player of the same calibre and if they absolutely want to leave...

"I believe, at the moment, we're not on that front. We're focused on keeping the team together and to see how we can strengthen the team.

"When you sign a contract somewhere, you commit to give your best until the end of the last day of that contract. I would say 'why should they not give their best?'.

"The interest of any player is always to play football and well, even more so at the end of your contact. If you're a winner, you want to win the game you're playing."

Joe Wright

Joe Wright Photo

Joe is a Senior Editor at Sporting News. He was previously a sub editor and writer for Goal.com before spending six years as part of the Stats Perform editorial news service, covering major global sports including football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby union and athletics. Joe has reported live on some of the biggest games in football, including two UEFA Champions League finals, Euro 2016, the Confederations Cup 2017 and the 2018 World Cup final at the end of a month in Russia.