Arsenal will once again demand Raheem Sterling in exchange for Alexis Sanchez should, if as is expected, Manchester City revive their interest in the Chilean this January.
Pep Guardiola was desperate to sign the Chile international last summer and, though Arsenal eventually came round to the idea of selling Sanchez, the Gunners failed to reach a deal for Thomas Lemar from Monaco and that killed the move.
However, City remain interested and can expect to pay substantially less for Sanchez given his contract runs out at the end of the season.
Arsenal’s negotiating stance is therefore weakened but the Gunners will still demand Sterling in exchange, according to the Daily Mail.
Guardiola on Sterling's future
‘Raz is staying here,’ said Guardiola last month
‘The club trust him – that is why we have invested a lot of money in him.
‘The players we have are going to stay. If they want to leave they are going to leave, but he wants to stay.
‘If players want to leave they have to ask the chairman, but there is no chance of that, he is going nowhere.’
Arsene Wenger recently hit out at Sterling for ‘diving’ in City’s 3-1 win against Arsenal but he remains a huge admirer of the England international.
Sterling has ten goals to his name already this term and Guardiola is unlikely to allow him to leave midway through the club’s title challenge.
The winger admitted last month that he was aware of interest in Arsenal last summer but said he did not think about moving to the Emirates ‘for one minute’.
‘I didn’t need to worry about it and I didn’t think about it – not for one minute,’ said Sterling.
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