With a season and a half left until the contracts of Mesut Özil and Alexis Sanchez run out, Arsenal are beginning to become frustrated with their monetary demands.
The duo are each asking for ￡290,000-per-week, which is said to be what Paul Pogba, who commanded a world-record fee in his transfer to Manchester United, is being paid.
Özil and Alexis are Arsenal’s two biggest stars and their best attackers, so holding onto them is vital if the club wants to get back to the state it was in a little more than a decade ago.
Özil was the first marquee signing Arsenal made after recovering from the debt incurred by building Emirates Stadium, and the first transfer over £20 million, which his fee of around £42 million blew out of the water.
Not only is Özil a great playmaker who constantly creates chances for his teammates, he is the symbol of Arsenal’s rebirth into becoming motivated to be more than an annual top-four club in the Premier League.
Sanchez, like Özil, is a symbol of the team, but the Chilean winger is the heart and soul of the club, the man who will take it on himself whenever possible to make the difference in any given match.
He has blossomed into a world-class talent at Arsenal after his skills were overlooked at Camp Nou when he was alongside Lionel Messi, but he finally has gotten the recognition he deserves with the Gunners.
Arsenal never give any player over £200,000-per-week, but if the transfer for Ozil was any indication, the financial standards at Arsenal are changing drastically.
It is time that Arsenal paid their best players what they deserve, and the world-class talents of Ozil and Sanchez warrant big wages.
If Arsene Wenger, Ivan Gazidis, and Stan Kroenke actually want to bring in silverware, then they must do what is necessary and pay their best players adequately.
But if profit is more important for the three main influences at the club, then they can say good bye to their best players and hello to profiting of a mediocre product, which does not seem as satisfying as making slightly less of a profit of a much better product.
