Arsenal defender Nacho Monreal says his team-mates do not expect Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez to be sold midway through the season.
Both Ozil and Sanchez are in the final season of their contract, with no progress on talks despite Arsenal having offered the pair deals worth up to £250,000-a-week and £300,000-a-week respectively.
Arsene Wenger has set a deadline of the end of next month for progress on contract talks or else he will consider cashing in on one or both of his star forwards. Manchester City are expected to revive their interest in Sanchez whilst Manchester United and Fenerbahce are among Ozil’s suitors.
However Monreal’s reading of the Arsenal dressing room is more optimistic and he expects them to at least see out their contracts.
“The feeling is that they will continue,” Monreal told IBTimes UK. “At no time have we talked about the possibility of them leaving. Not at all. They are committed to the group and we will see what happens.
“I can't say much about it. It does not depend on me. The situation is clear. They are two vital players for Arsenal. They are two players who end their contracts at the end of the season.
“If the club want them to stay beyond December [the January transfer window] they will follow. Yet, I do not know the club's intentions. It is other people who are the ones who have to make a decision.”
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Speaking after Saturday’s 2-0 win over Tottenham Wenger provided an even more optimistic assessment of Arsenal’s prospects of retaining Ozil and Sanchez.
“I am convinced they love the club, they love the team,” Wenger told Standard Sport. “The rest will be decided.
“When? I don’t really know. I alone cannot master that.”
