Arsenal stars Hector Bellerin and Shkodran Mustafi both DEMANDED to leave the Gunners this summer
And Arsene Wenger fumed at Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain when he told him he wanted to quit the Emirates, according to reports
HECTOR BELLERIN and Shkodran Mustafi both reportedly joined Alexis Sanchez in asking to leave Arsenal this summer.
And Arsene Wenger was desperate to keep Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at the Emirates too.
Those are the claims of respected Arsenal insider and BBC journalist David Ornstein.
Meanwhile, we reported last month that German centre-half Mustafi had demanded to leave Arsenal to join Inter Milan.
And now those have been backed up by Ornstein as he answered a Q&A on Twitter.
He said: "Arsenal encountered problems with some of those they did not want to lose. For example, Hector Bellerin returned from the U21 Euros to tell Wenger he wanted to leave amid interest from Barcelona.
"Oxlade-Chamberlain rejected a new deal and eventually told Wenger he wanted out.
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"No contract talks took place place with Ozil and have not since March and Sanchez also made clear his desire to exit the Emirates."
He added: "Shkodran Mustafi asked to leave, which suited Arsenal because it gave them the chance to replace a player they were disappointed with last season, except they failed to land a replacement."
He went on to explain how Wenger was willing to allow a number of fringe men to be sold in order to free up wages - but Oxlade-Chamberlain was not one the Gunners wanted to lose.
And although he was the "most realistic sale", Wenger still tried to convince the England international to stay put - and was furious when he did not get the response desired.
Discussing the Ox's move to Liverpool and Ozil and Sanchez's desire to go, Ornstein added: "Wenger wanted and tried to keep the trio.
"He was stunned and bitterly disappointed when Oxlade-Chamberlain rejected the club's final contract offer (an enormous pay rise that would have earned him close to £180,000 per week if Arsenal made it back into the Champions League).
"And I'm told Wenger did not hold back when Oxlade-Chamberlain told him face-to-face that he wanted to move on.
"Oxlade-Chamberlain's price was an initial £35m, while money also came in for Szczesny, Gabriel and Gibbs.
"On the face of it that left Arsenal in profit for the window, although it is unclear if or how much of Oxlade-Chamberlain's fee was owed to his former club Southampton via a sell-on clause."
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