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Arsene Wenger believes Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil want to stay at Arsenal

Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal will not sell Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil

Contract talk at Arsenal isn’t confined to the manager. The uncertainty that exists around Arsene Wenger’s future is replicated throughout the squad at present, most significantly in the breakdown in negotiations with Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil.

Both players have just over 14 months left on their existing deals and have so far declined all offers to extend their stay in north London.

Standard Sport revealed in December that the pair were seeking financial parity with the Premier League’s highest earners – which effectively means doubling their current salaries of £140,000-a-week (Ozil) and £130,000-a-week (Sanchez) – but the situation has grown more complicated since then.

Arsenal crashed out of the Champions League in humiliating circumstances against Bayern Munich earlier this month while plummeting out of the top four during a run of four League defeats in five games.

During this turbulent period, both Sanchez and Ozil’s body language has been interpreted negatively: the former appears frustrated and unhappy while the latter has been accused of indolence and disinterest.

Wenger revealed in a television interview last week that talks with Sanchez and Ozil will be delayed until the summer but this morning he reiterated his belief they would commit their futures to the club.

"I think once you go into the final two or three months of the season, everybody is more focused on the end of the season and you give yourself more time in a more relaxed atmosphere between the two seasons," he said.

"They are not out of contract at the end of the season. I personally believe that both of them want to stay and I hope that the club will find an agreement with them."

Speculation persisted again today over Sanchez’s state of mind after quotes emerged from an interview conducted while on international duty with Chile claiming that "I’d like to stay in London but with a team that’s winning things", fuelling talk of a move to Chelsea.

Wenger’s response was typically cute: "There’s only one team in London so he’s happy!

"It’s true that we have not extended his contract yet. I hope that he will stay at the club but overall I think you have as well to be very cautious when people give interviews in their home countries.

"As you said, the interpretation is not always exactly what they wanted to say. I don’t see anything in that - he said he wants to win the championship, that’s what everybody wants. I can understand that completely."

As much as Wenger tries to deny it, the 67-year-old’s personal situation is inevitably clouding the picture for a number of players; Sanchez and Ozil are on a list of players for whom the summer could bring a change of scenery that also includes Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lucas Perez and David Ospina.

Not knowing precisely who the manager will be only enhances the sense of doubt. Wenger’s declaration today that he is clear in his own mind regarding his future belies the complexity of his position.

He wants to stay – of that there is no little doubt – but he remains concerned as to whether the environment will exist for him to do so.

Fan opprobrium has reached unprecedented levels and any further deterioration in the team’s form will strengthen the protesters’ resolve while reinforcing the view he is no longer capable of leading the team successfully.

The players, therefore, effectively hold his future in their hands. Results always dictate the mood at any club and Wenger will have to find a way to beat Manchester City without Petr Cech, who was ruled for another week with a calf injury.

Lucas Perez is also absent with a thigh problem but Sanchez and Ozil are expected to be fit after heading off on international duty with injuries only to both then feature for their countries.

"Our season will now be decided by the next two months, but as well by the ability and the strength we can show together to fight and come back in a very convincing way," he said.

"We had a deficit at West Brom on that front and I think the most important will be that our future will be decided by our mental qualities."