Arsenal tell Alexis Sanchez he will not be joining Manchester City as Arsene Wenger refuses to sell stars to rivals

• e-mail

Arsenal will tell Alexis Sanchez he will not be sold to Manchester City, meaning their pre-season is likely to be disrupted by the desire of the forward to join Pep Guardiola.

Sanchez, who became Chile's record scorer last week and will play in Sunday's Confederations Cup final against Germany, is set on a move to City — but Arsene Wenger is determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past by selling to their biggest rivals.

Now they have the financial strength to refuse any bid, they will tell Sanchez to join a foreign club, with Paris Saint-Germain favourites, or see out the final year of his deal, when he can leave on a free.

Alexis Sanchez will be denied the chance to seal a summer move to Manchester City

The 28-year-old Chile forward is keen on linking back up with former boss Pep Guardiola

Sanchez is currently preparing for Chile's Confederations Cup final showdown with Germany

The only situation which might change that stance is if Arsenal had paid £120million for Monaco's Kylian Mbappe and needed to recoup some transfer funds; or, if, Sergio Aguero were made part of the deal, to replace him.

But Sanchez's fourth season of tournament football through the summer with Chile means that he will not be arriving back in London until the end of July.

There is little chance of the situation being resolved while he is on holiday. That means the run up to the Community Shield against Chelsea on August 6 is likely to be dominated by the Sanchez situation.

Like Sanchez, Mesut Ozil has still to sign a contract — worth around £300,000 a week with image rights — but Arsenal are confident the German will sign.

Arsenal concede that the chances of Mbappe joining them are receding, with the teenager likely to stay at Monaco or join Real Madrid.

That is why Lyon's Alexandre Lacazette has come back on the radar, with Monaco's Thomas Lemar the other attacking options.

Lacazette would cost a club-record £50m and Lemar £35m but the club want to conclude business early.

Arsenal are more confident of keeping hold of German playmaker Mesut Ozil (centre) 

Alexandre Lacazette is closing in on a £50million move from Lyon to the Emirates Stadium