Arsenal’s protracted contract extension talks with star duo Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez have reportedly hit a very expensive snag, one that could cost the club in the region of £36 million to overcome.
According to the Times, the pair have increased their wage demands to an eye-watering £250,000 per week. To anyone counting, that’s an increase of some £70,000 on what was originally discussed when negotiations first began last season.
The London club has been trying to tie down the pivotal duo for over a year now, with five year contracts reportedly growing dusty on the table.
However, both have been stalling, choosing instead to put talks off until the end of the last season. International duties during the summer saw further delays and it is only now, with the new Premier League season underway, that the club and players appear to be getting back to negotiations.
Failure to meet the players’ massive wage demands would see Arsenal risk losing two of their most important players and you might well assume that the likes of Real Madrid, Ozil’s former club, and other top sides from around Europe, are monitoring the situation as it develops.
Fans will also be looking at the evolving situation with some nervousness. While other Premier League sides, such as Chelsea and both Manchester clubs, already dole out amounts similar to those demanded by the Arsenal pair, the Gunners have, until now, not had to entertain such lofty wage bills.
It seems now however that this may be about to change. To lose either Ozil or Sanchez would be to see the club’s title ambitions take a serious hit, never mind the guaranteed backlash from the fans.
Arsène Wenger now needs to decide just how much those ambitions are worth to him.
