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Arsenal keen on Riyad Mahrez signing but will reject any bids for Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil
Arsène Wenger has admitted he is interested in signing Riyad Mahrez from Leicester and has promised that neither Alexis Sánchez nor Mesut Özil will be leaving Arsenal this summer.
Wenger made the comments hours after it emerged Arsenal had failed in an £87m move for Monaco teenager Kylian Mbappe as the Frenchman looks to add to his squad after signing a new two-year contract to continue as manager.
And Wenger seems likely to test Leicester’s resolve to keep Mahrez after acknowledging his admiration of the player and only saying “not yet” when asked if he had made a bid for the Algerian.
“We have not made a bid, but personally, I like the player, yes,” Wenger told beIN Sports of Mahrez, who this week handed in a transfer request at Leicester.
“I think he made a huge impact when they won the championship. Like at everybody else at Leicester, this season has been more challenging, but it doesn’t take away from his qualities. “Have we made a bid for him? No. Not yet. No, we have not. When I say ‘not yet’ it means it could happen. It might not happen.”
Wenger also stated he will not entertain any bids for either Sánchez and Özil, both of whom have just one year left on their contracts, with the Chilean attracting strong interest from the likes of Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester City.
“This summer first of all they will stay at the club and hopefully we can extend their contract,” said Wenger. “You cannot weaken the club and weaken the team, and you want to strengthen the team, unless you find a player of the same calibre if they absolutely want to leave. I believe that at the moment we are not on that front, we are focused on keeping the team together and seeing how to strengthen the team.”