Majority shareholder Stan Kroenke refuses to concede defeat in Arsenal's attempt to convince Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez to extend their contracts.
Both players’ current terms expire at the end of the season and though Arsenal have indicated a willingness to offer both new deals worth in excess of £250,000-a-week there has been little progress in talks.
Arsenal came close to selling Sanchez to Manchester City this summer only for a deal to collapse when the Gunners were unable to secure Thomas Lemar. The league leaders are expected to revive their interest in January, whilst Ozil has emerged as a target for Inter Milan and Manchester United.
But Kroenke, who is due to address Arsenal shareholders at today’s Annual General Meeting, offered an optimistic assessment of the club’s ability to both retain the duo and quality to supplement them.
“We want to attract top players, keep top players,” Kroenke told the Mirror. “Those guys (Sanchez and Ozil) are top players.
“I watched them on Sunday (in the 5-2 win at Everton) and they looked really good in black with the red trim. They looked really good and they played really well and we’d love to keep them.
“It takes two to dance. We’ll keep working to keep our top talent and to attract more talent but some of the guys we’ve got are looking pretty good.
“I feel good about Arsenal’s ability to compete, and compete at a very high level. But I also feel we can get better, I really do. I think we’ll get better at it.”
