Arsenal distracted by transfer talk ahead of Watford clash

LONDON: Arsenal’s preparations for a return to English Premier League action following the international break are once again dominated by uncertainty over the futures of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil.

Manager Arsene Wenger has openly admitted for the first time that he could now sell the pair in January rather than allowing them to leave at the end of their contracts next summer.

Although optimistic that they will extend their stays at the club, when asked if he had placed a deadline on the matter, Wenger said on Thursday: “No not at the moment. Once you are in our kind of situation we have envisaged every kind of solution, yes.”

And when asked if that meant they could leave in January he said: “Yes, it’s possible. 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. At the moment, we are not close enough to announce anything.”

Sanchez is likely to miss today’s trip to Watford following the physical and mental exertions that saw him fail in his bid to help Chile qualify for next year’s World Cup.

“I will have to speak to him,” said the Arsenal manager, whose side are fifth in the table after a good recent run of results.

“Yesterday afternoon I watched the whole BrazilChile game to see how difficult the game was.

“I must say he got some special treatment – it was a very physical game and mentally I will have to assess the situation.”

Wenger has also suffered a blow in defence, with Shkodran Mustafi ruled out for six weeks after picking up a hamstring injury on Germany duty.

With Laurent Koscielny facing a fitness test, Arsenal could be short defensively at Vicarage Road.

“I don’t think Mustafi will be back until the next international break,” said Wenger.

“It’s always difficult to predict the situation because the player I least expected to lose during the break was Mustafi.

“First of all, I was not sure he would play. Secondly, Germany had already qualified so I didn’t expect him to be out injured as the games would be less intense.

“He didn’t play in the first game, and we lost him in the second game against Azerbaijan at home. We have to cope with that now.” — AFP