Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger claims it wouldn’t be a financial disaster should Alexis Sanchez leave on a free
The Chilean ace is in danger of leaving the Emirates on a free, along with fellow star's Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
ARSENE WENGER claims letting Alexis Sanchez walk out of Arsenal for nothing would NOT be a financial catastrophe.
The Gunners could raise around £130million this summer if they sold Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who are all in the final year of their contracts.
But boss Wenger reckons it could cost more to sign and pay a replacement for Sanchez than the £50m Manchester City would love to spend on the hitman.
While giving the Chile star the £400,000 per week he is demanding to sign a new long-term contract would also commit Arsenal to laying out more than £50m in wages.
So that is why Wenger - who has a Masters in economics, thinks it is worth keeping Sanchez, 28, in an Arsenal shirt, even if it is for only one more season.
Wenger said: “We have to make a balance between efficiency on the field and financial interest. Most of the time if you can find a good compromise, it’s better.
“I think I prioritise the fact that he will be useful on the sporting side.
“It is a sacrifice that you have to calculate how much it costs.
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“If you sell the player and buy somebody, you spend maybe more than you would otherwise lose.
“And if you extend the contract it costs you maybe more than you lose when you keep the player for the final year of their deal.
“So you have to consider the length of the contract that the players want.
“So taking all that into consideration, the financial sacrifice is not as heavy as it looks.”
Wenger admits it is hard to make rational calculations of what a player is worth to a team, especially during a summer in which Neymar has joined Paris Saint-Germain for a world record £198m.
The Arsenal boss is also wary of having to sell a key player to a domestic rival like City.
Manchester United stormed to the title after the Gunners allowed Robin van Persie to move to Old Trafford in 2012.
But Wenger claims still to be optimistic about keeping Sanchez and German schemer Ozil, also 28.
He said: “Look, both players are happy at the club. So, after that, you have to meet their needs.
“Their needs are their desire for success and financial as well.
“I think if we can meet their needs on the pitch, there is more chance to extend their contracts.
“One hundred per cent never exists. But today I think all three will stay.”
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