Arsene Wenger rules out Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil leaving Arsenal in January transfer window

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Arsene Wenger has ruled out letting Alexis Sanchez or Mesut Ozil leave in January unless they receive huge offers for the pair.

The two Arsenal stars are out of contract next summer and the club risk losing them on free transfers if their contracts run down. They will also be in a position to sign pre-contract agreements with teams outside of England. 

Chilean Sanchez, 28, cost £30million from Barcelona in 2014, while Germany international Ozil, 29, arrived from Real Madrid for £42.5m the year before. 

Arsene Wenger has ruled out Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil leaving the club in January

Sanchez is out of contract at Arsenal at the end of the season but won't leave before then

Mesut Ozil is also in the final year of his contract but won't be leaving the club in January

But while the next transfer window is the only opportunity Wenger has of recouping any money on the duo, the Frenchman is intent on ensuring they stay at the club.

‘I rule it out,’ Wenger said in his pre-match press conference ahead of playing Huddersfield on Wednesday. 

‘I do not think about that every day. At the moment, as long as they are here, they have to give their best for the team and for the club. 

‘In my head, they stay until the end of the season and that’s a decision that was taken at the start of the season. Unless something unbelievable happens, I can’t see why that would change.

Wenger was speaking ahead of Arsenal's home fixture with Huddersfield on Wednesday

The Gunners enter the fixture at the Emirates sitting fourth in the Premier League table 

‘For me, they’ll stay until the end of the season. That’s what I decided at the start of the season. They’re into the final year of their contract. Will they stay longer? That’s impossible to answer today because I don’t know. They have a contract until the end of the season.’ 

One key player who has no intention of ending his Arsenal career prematurely despite heading towards the end of it is goalkeeper Petr Cech. Wenger revealed the 35-year-old goalkeeper has lost around half a stone as he attempts to extend his playing time for as long as possible.

‘He gets older, we all do that,’ Wenger said, ‘but as he gets older I think he is fitter than ever. He puts a lot of attention to the preparation. He is slimmer than before. I think he benefits from that.

‘He has lost some weight. Not too much, two, three kilos only. But it’s a lot if you want to make a horse lose a race, you put a jockey with one or two kilos more on the back, and the horse is quite big.’ 

Petr Cech is one key player who has no intention of ending his Arsenal career prematurely

Arsenal’s manager can see similarities between his goalkeeper and Edwin Van Der Sar. The Dutch legend is the oldest player to win the Premier League, a feat he achieved at Manchester United aged 40 years and 205 days.

‘Cech has done it because he feels better and because he wants to be at the best,’ Wenger said. ‘Petr Cech is a perfectionist. And you don’t make a career he has made if you have not that obsession, always to be at your best.

‘I remember Van der Sar, at Manchester United, I compare them. They are intelligent, they have great similar size, similar quality. And Van der Sar stopped at the end because he decided to stop. Because Man United wanted him to stay one more year longer. I don’t rule it out, but that will only be down to the performances.’