Arsene Wenger wants JANUARY transfer window scrapped now with Manchester City coming back for Alexis Sanchez
Gunners boss says his stars like Sanchez will be unsettled as early as next month because their heads are turned by possible mid-season moves to new clubs
ARSENE WENGER has called for the January transfer window to be scrapped - as he fears his stars will start being unsettled next month by clubs looking to sign them.
Wenger fought all summer to keep unsettled players like Alexis Sanchez at the Emirates Stadium in the wake of interest from Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City.
But even though the Gunners blocked Sanchez from making a £60million switch to City only last week, Wenger fears it won't be long before his head is being turned again.
And the Arsenal boss says it is high time the mid-season transfer window is scrapped to allow managers the chance to work with their players without any distractions.
Speaking to beINSPORTS, Wenger said: “What’s happening now is that the transfer window is closed. September will be okay.
“The players who are tapped up in October, they already start to think: ‘Where do I go in January?’
“That’s not the way to be on board with the football club. We are here to entertain people. You can [only] do that with people who are on board together, with people who want to achieve something together.
"Not with people who, when things don’t go well, think: ‘Where can I go next?’.”
Wenger knows with Sanchez in the final year of his contract with Arsenal he will be free to talk with other clubs from January onwards.
Germany World Cup winner Mesut Ozil is in a similar position and is sure to have options himself while he stalls over signing a new deal with the club.
And in reality, the contact between player and possible new clubs will start well before then - leaving Wenger fearing several will lose focus on the job of performing week in week out this season.
Sanchez is expected to link back up with the Gunners on Wednesday for the first time since his move to City failed materialise.
The attacker was away on international duty with the Chilean national team over deadline day, and City had even sent staff to South America to complete a medical.
But Arsenal pulled the plug on a deal after they left it too late to bring in a replacement, with a £92m bid for Monaco's Thomas Lemar knocked back.
City could return with another bid in January with Pep Guardiola keen to add him to his squad, and he knows the fee would be much reduced with just five months left on his contract.