Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger stunned reporters after Sunday’s Emirates Cup defeat to Sevilla by admitting that he’s not too bothered on missing out on a potential £120M by letting three of his star players remain in North London until the end of their contracts.

 

With Chilean star Alexis Sanchez, German international Mesut Ozil and England’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all entering the final 12 months of their respective deals, Wenger, when asked to clarify the situation, simply referred to it as “ideal”.
 

The Frenchman is adamant that players who run down their contracts are more determined to show their worth to earn a new deal and when he was asked about Ozil’s situation he explained that; “Yes. It is not an issue and I think it’s an ideal situation because everyone has to perform. It should not change if you have two years or one year left, you go out on the pitch".
 

“I don’t understand, do you really think you sit in the dressing room before a game and you think, ‘Oh I have only one year left to go so I will not play well today? Where does this come from? And what has that got to do with the length of your contract?

And even if it happens that a player leaves it doesn't matter. It looks normal to me and I am amazed you are surprised at that. I think in the future you will see this more and more – because transfer fees become so high, but it will happen because nobody will want the pay the amount of money demanded. I’m convinced that in the next ten years this will become the usual thing.”