Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil want to stay at Arsenal, says Arsene Wenger

Courtesy: Reuters

London: Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil love Arsenal and want to stay but money will decide whether they renew their contracts with the club, manager Arsene Wenger said on Saturday.

Both players’ deals expire in the summer and Wenger has previously admitted the pair could be sold during the January transfer window.

Sanchez scored in the 2-0 Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

“I am convinced they love the club and love the team, but all the rest will be decided, when? I don’t really know," Wenger told reporters.

"I believe they love the club and want to stay, but there are other top clubs out there who offer good contracts as well.” When asked if the rousing manner of Arsenal’s win over Tottenham could convince Sanchez and Ozil to stay, Wenger added:

"It’s not enough because the quality of the contract has to be good and enough for them."

"The quality of the contract is part of it. The whole thing has to be right and they have to be happy.” Sanchez’s close-range strike sealed the victory for Arsenal over Tottenham after Shkodran Mustafi had headed the open goal five minutes earlier."

The result lifted Arsenal to fifth in the Premier League, one point behind Tottenham, and earned them a first victory in the north London derby in seven attempts.

"We played with purpose, good concentration, the desire to be always efficient and with great solidarity from the first to last minute," Wenger said.

"The quality of our concentration was very high. We never had a minute where we could feel we dropped a little bit our focus."

Mustafi’s goal came with a double dose of controversy. The free kick from which he scored was given for a disputable foul by Davinson Sanchez on Sanchez and replays showed Mustafi was marginally offside.

"Two weeks ago we conceded a goal that was not marginally offside, it was a yard offside, and nobody found a word to say," Wenger said.

"I watched it again (Mustafi’s goal) – it’s not true that he was offside. And it was a foul."

"When we concede goals, it’s absolutely normal, even when they are a yard offside. When we may be offside, I have to answer that in a press conference."