The Independent

Contract talks with Sanchez and Ozil off, for now

- BEN BURROWS

Arsenal have shelved contract talks with unsettled duo Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil until the end of the season.

The pair’s current deals end at the end of next season but an agreement has yet to be reached with both holding out for significan­tly improved terms.

Both are understood to be asking for upwards of £250,000 per week with a breakthrou­gh yet to be reached despite months of negotiatio­n.

And with fortunes on the pitch taking a significan­t downturn manager Arsene Wenger, whose own future

is the subject of much debate, has confirmed the club were putting off any further talks until the end of the campaign.

"At the moment we have not got an agreement,” he told beIN Sports.

"We have decided to focus on the end of the season and talk about it during in the summer.

"Once you don't get an agreement and that lasts it's not good, so it's better you sit down during the summer."

Wenger has increasing­ly split the Arsenal fan-base with two protests being held before recent matches and two planes flown over the Hawthorns carrying conflictin­g messages - one of support and one against any new deal being signed.

The Frenchman insisted on Tuesday that he had not signed a deal to take over at Paris Saint-Germain next year and reckons says he will remain loyal to Arsenal irrespecti­ve of whether he leaves in a matter of months or years.

"My news is that I have no news for you," he said when asked about his decision.

"No matter how long I stay I will be committed and completely focused as long as I stay at the club, so how long I stay doesn't really matter because as long as I'm there I'm completely focused on what is to achieve the best with the club.

"At the moment we are going through a difficult period with the results so I think it is much more important to focus to get it right again.

"We suffer a lot at the moment but when you take a little distance and put into perspectiv­e, we have two games behind, we are two games behind and in the semi-final of the cup to prepare against Manchester City so our season will be decided on how well we respond now to the difficult period we have had."

 ?? (Getty) ?? Arsenal will not reenter into negotiatio­ns with the pair until the end of the season
(Getty) Arsenal will not reenter into negotiatio­ns with the pair until the end of the season

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom