Arsene Wenger believes Arsenal players running down contracts is the 'ideal' situation as they face uncertain futures

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Arsene Wenger says that he is unconcerned by the prospect of starting the season with two key players entering the final year of their contracts – because he expects this type of situation to become the new normal in the years ahead.

Wenger and Arsenal have faced much scrutiny in recent months over the futures of Alexis Sánchez and Mesut Özil, whose current deals expire in the summer of 2018. Neither appears willing to put pen to paper, meaning the Gunners face a galling dilemma: sell on the cheap in January or risk losing them for free when the season ends.

Yet Wenger believes that plenty of managers will soon face such circumstances due to inflation in the transfer market. "In the future, you will see that more and more, players going to the end of a contract," the Frenchman said after his side's 2-1 Emirates Cup defeat to Sevilla. "Why? Because transfer [fees] become so high, even for normal players, no one will want to pay the amount of money that is demanded. I'm convinced that in the next 10 years it will become usual."

So starting a campaign with five or six players entering the final 12 months of their contracts would not be a cause for concern? "Not at all. It's an ideal situation. Everybody has to perform. When you're a football player, you perform until the last day of your contract. What does it change when you have two years or one year left to go? When you go onto the pitch, you want to play and do well.

"Do you really think that [players] sit in the dressing room before a game and think, 'Oh, I only have one year to go, I will not play well today'? Where does that come from? When you're a football player, you want to go out and play, and do as well as you can. What does that have to do with the length of your contract? I'm amazed that you're surprised by that. It looks normal to me.

"The performance on the day does not depend on the length of the contract. If that was true, we would sign everybody for 20 years."

Reflecting on his side's performance on Sunday, Wenger reserved words of praise for new signing Alexandre Lacazette, whose second-half strike briefly restored parity before Steven N'Zonzi's superb winner. "When he was involved, he was intelligent and protected the ball well," said Wenger.

"He got his goal and overall it was an encouraging performance. He suffered from the fact that we were a bit flat. We weren't dominating enough [for him] to get the service, but he was one of the few who had a positive game today.

"Sometimes it takes a few months, sometimes very little time [to settle]. With Lacazette, week after week, he looks to adapt quickly. I think it will take him one or two months. To score goals is to be in the right place in the box when the cross comes in. He has that quality."

Eduardo Berizzo, whose Sevilla side missed out on some minor silverware here despite winning both of their games, took his mathematical medicine with good grace. "It's a bit strange we're not winners," he laughed. "But it's just a detail. It's not important.

"The game went really well for us. We pressured them well in the first half and had more control after the break, creating chances. There was a good rhythm to our play."