‘I Fight To Get Players Paid As Much As I Can’ – Arsene Wenger

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is keeping his hopes high as he looks to tie star duo Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil to new long-term deals.

The Frenchman is thought to be very prude when it comes to spending big bucks on transfers and player contracts, but the 66-year-old insists that he does all in his power to get the best deal for his players.

Wenger said that he will always “fight” to get his players the best possible deals.

Arsenal are set to start contract negotiations with Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez in the coming weeks as the star duo are now in the final two-years of their current deal, with both their current contract set to end in June 2018.

Wenger also said that he doesn’t like to see his star players enter the final year of their contract, adding that it helps keep things flow smoothly and fend off any potential interests from other clubs.

‘Le Professeur’ as he is fondly called, Wenger recently admitted that Gunners will have to break the ban if they want to keep hold of Mesut Ozil.

Wenger said: “It’s normal players try to get the maximum out of the negotiations because they only have 10 years at the top level if all goes well. If you were a player you would try the same. You try to earn as much as you can.

“My whole life I fight to get the players paid as much as I can. I want as well to be responsible, to pay them the money we can afford to pay. Ideally you do not want players to go into the final year of their deals. They have to feel you meet their needs at the club and they get paid for it. So that is why we negotiate before.”

The Gunners are currently second in the Premier League, tie on points but behind on goal difference with league leaders Manchester City.

Arsene Wenger feels that both Ozil and Sanchez will feel happy as the club is currently chasing both domestic and continental success and the hunger to win more trophies will keep the players happy.

He said: “I think these kind of players can raise a little bit above the financial aspect of the game because they are not poor and they have to look really at the football side.”

“It is more about whether the club can meet their needs on the football front. If ‘yes’ then a Premier League club can find an agreement with the players. We still keep values we have at the club, of course, and we pay what we can afford.”

“We still have a scale of wages. It has become a bit more individual than when I arrived 20 years ago because every case is a bit special. But don’t worry, they are all paid well.”

“These days, when you sign a contract for four years, you are actually signing for two because of the simple fact that, just to keep the value of the player, you have to extend the contract two years before it is due to end. Sometimes one year. It is a little bit illogical because that means a player’s commercial value is inflationary because you never extend a contract to offer less [money] but you do not have much of a choice.”