Arsene Wenger is not concerned by Alexis Sanchez’s contract situation (Picture: Getty)

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has defended his club’s contract strategy despite being at serious risk of losing Alexis Sanchez on a free transfer at the end of the season.

The Gunners gave Sanchez a four-year deal when he joined from Barcelona in 2014, and he has so far rejected any offers of an extension as he heads into his final year at the Emirates Stadium.

The Chile international is known to be keen on a move to Manchester City this summer, while the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich have also shown an interest in his services.

Still, Arsenal have remained firm that they will not be tempted to cash in on him this year, preferring to let him run his contract down even if that means losing him on a free.

Sanchez has been linked with Man City and PSG as he stalls on a new deal (Picture: Getty)

Wenger has defended this strategy further by rejecting claims that the 28-year-old could lose focus or be less committed as he nears the end of his time in north London.

‘You could say as well the other way round,’ Wenger told beIN Sports. ‘The real question we have to answer is does the hunger index increase or decrease when you have a short contract or a long contract?

‘I would be on the opposite side. That means the hunger index is higher when the contracts are shorter and it decreases naturally when the guys have long contracts.

Wenger believes his contract strategy works (Picture: Getty)

Arsenal players nearing the end of their contracts

2018

Mesut Ozil
Alexis Sanchez
Per Mertesacker
Jack Wilshere
Santi Cazorla

2019

Aaron Ramsey
Theo Walcott
Olivier Giroud
Petr Cech
David Ospina
Danny Welbeck
Nacho Monreal
Mathieu Debuchy
Chuba Akpom

‘Contracts mean a lot. When you sign them as a club, you have to pay the money for the player if he performs or not. That gives you a huge responsibility and gives a guarantee of income to the players. Overall, I believe that it has a meaning.’

While Arsenal fans will be delighted to see Sanchez staying for the time being, many will rightly question why his contract wasn’t longer in the first place, and why negotiations over an extension started so late as to lead to this current situation in the first place.

Other key players such as Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are also in the final year of their current deals.

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