Arsenal superstar duo Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil are demanding astonishing new deals to stay at Arsenal. According to The Sun, Sanchez and Ozil want the Gunners to offer them a deal that would see them earn as much as, if not more than, Premier League’s highest earner Paul Pogba.
Ozil, at present, is Arsenal’s highest earner at £140,000 per week while Alexis earns £130,000 per week. Pogba, who signed for United in the summer for a world record fee, earns a staggering £290,000 per week.
Both have close to 18 months left to run on their existing contracts and with negotiations underway for new deals, the wage demands could prove to be a roadblock. With giants like Manchester City, Juventus monitoring the players closely, Arsenal will be hoping to resolve this situation at the earliest and tie down their two most influential players.
Alexis and Ozil have been in terrific form for Arsenal this season, and have been the key men in the Gunners’ rise to the second place in the Premier League table. But does that justify their latest wage demands? Should Arsenal submit to their players’ wishes?
27-year old Alexis has been Arsenal’s leading man this season. Playing as a centre-forward, the Chilean has already scored 11 times this season and is the Premier League’s joint top-scorer alongside Chelsea’s Diego Costa. He has also assisted 4 goals this season and is Arsenal’s leading creator of chances. He also has scored and assisted twice in the UEFA Champions League.
Ozil also has had a prolific season so far, having scored 4 times each in both Premier League and UEFA Champions League. He also has 2 assists in both the competitions. He’s next only to Sanchez in terms of chances created for the Gunners this season.
Given their performances this season, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that they are the primary reasons for Arsenal’s success so far. And if the Gunners are to sustain their title challenge, both Sanchez and Ozil will have a hugely critical role to play.
But that does not mean the club bends to their wills. Arsenal are a highly stable and secure club when it comes to financial terms. They have a very well-defined wage structure in place and demands of such exorbitant salaries should not be entertained at all.
The wages Pogba earns are ridiculous, to say the least. United were desperate in the summer to make a marquee signing, and the Frenchman and his representatives made the most of United and Jose Mourinho’s anxiety.
While both Sanchez and Ozil are, no doubt, rightly deserving of better contracts, such unreasonable demands should not be accommodated or encouraged. As Wenger pointed out in a press conference recently, it is not all about the money.
“I would like to say the luxury of the modern game should be that it’s not only about the money because the players make good money at this level anyway, wherever they play.
“I believe, personally – maybe I am a bit naive – that it’s more about getting to meet the players’ needs. That’s about the way the club has values, the way the club has ambition, the way the club respects the players.
“So I think, for me, that is more important nowadays and an important ingredient for every player to consider. The money is good everywhere for everybody.”
It is a matter of great importance that Arsenal gets their awesome twosome sign the extensions, with potential suitors in large numbers waiting, but the club should also stand by their principles and not give in to the inordinate wage demands. Both the club and the players should make sure that a resolution is reached as soon as possible so that the focus is back on their title challenge and not these off-the-field matters.