Petr Cech today claimed Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez will stay at Arsenal if the team prove capable of sustaining a challenge for major honours this season.
The Gunners eased to a 4-0 win at Swansea on Saturday but Sanchez’s happiness was again called into question after he reacted angrily to being substituted with 12 minutes remaining.
Arsene Wenger sought to play down the incident but it may prompt further concern in the context of the club’s contractual stalemate with both players.
Sanchez and Ozil are seeking parity with the top flight’s highest earners in talks to extend their deals which have less than 18 months to run.
But Cech believes his team-mates have a role to play in convincing the pair to remain in north London.
“I think for us it is important to show them how much we need them in the team and to show them how much we want to win,” he told Standard Sport.
“Then obviously it will make their decision easier. If they see that we are competitive, everybody is ready to win things together and they know how important they are for our team, then this will make their decision easier.”
Arsenal last week announced fresh contracts for Laurent Koscielny, Olivier Giroud and Francis Coquelin and boss Wenger is expected to concentrate on securing extensions for a number of players this month rather than adding to his squad in the transfer window.
In Pictures | Swansea vs Arsenal | 14/01/2017
Funds are available should a deal present itself but Cech believes they have sufficient strength in depth to last the pace if reinforcements do not arrive.
“On Saturday we were missing players due to injury and so they are all basically close to fitness and back to the squad, apart from Santi [Cazorla], who will need a little bit more time.
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“If everyone is fit then we have a strong squad. So this is probably why the boss said what he said. It is his decision. We concentrate on our game and then we train. If he brings in a player or not, that is his decision.”
Arsenal’s attacking prowess was ultimately too much for Swansea, who began the game brightly before Giroud scored against the run of play. Alex Iwobi added a second before a Kyle Naughton own goal and Sanchez’s late strike gave Arsenal a comprehensive win and significantly, they kept a clean sheet for only the third time in 17 games.
“When you are in control and you are 3-0 up you don’t want to concede,” added Cech.
