Arsene Wenger admits he is trying to avoid committing footballing ‘suicide’ in his bid to keep Alexis Sanchez at Arsenal.
The Chilean has 12 months left on his contract and wants to play Champions League football. Wenger has vetoed his exit and wants him to sign a new deal.
Asked whether Sanchez is interested, Wenger said: “That is again something that I do not want to come back on.
“We know we have a duty to inform people, but to talk about some things is not information anymore - it is suicide.
“Every negotiation has to be a little bit secret. The transparency of society is very pushy but we have to resist a little bit, as much as we can.”
Sanchez, 28, trained with his team-mates as normal amid well-documented interest from Manchester City and Chelsea.
Wenger added: "I will not give anything away on that but the only thing I can tell you is that he is focused, and my decision is clear: he will stay and he will respect that. it is as simple as that."