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Arsene Wenger has publicly refused, for the first time, to rule out the possibility of Arsenal selling both Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil in the January transfer window.
Arsenal fans have long wearied of the protracted discussions surrounding the future of their two star players, with both men out of contract in the summer and unwilling to sign new deals. Sanchez almost moved to Manchester City on the last day of the transfer window before his £60 million move collapsed due to Arsenal’s failure to sign an adequate replacement, whilst Ozil has been linked with moves to Manchester United and Inter Milan.
“Once you are in our kind of situation we have envisaged every kind of solution yes,” said Wenger about the wantaway players. “Yes, it’s possible.”
He also added that no contract negotiation deadline has been assigned, “No not at the moment.”
“I always said that the fact that we didn’t find an agreement last year doesn’t mean the player will necessarily leave. Both players look happy here and overall I hope that the situation can be turned around. But at the moment, we are not close enough to announce anything.”
Previously Wenger had indicated he wanted to keep both players until the end of the season, but, speaking at his press conference ahead of this weekend’s fixture at Watford, appeared to have changed his tune, suggesting that all possible outcomes are on the table regarding the future of the two players, including both being sold.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.