Arsenal general secretary David Miles has insisted that contract negotiations with Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez are “looking pretty good”.
Both players are only under contract until 2018, with on-going speculation suggesting that there is a significant gap in negotiations between the two parties, as per the Metro.
While their futures are likely to continue to dominate headlines until it’s officially announced that they’ve agreed to new deals, Miles has offered a more positive outlook on the situation.
“Of course, we know talks are ongoing with certain players and certain contracts,” Miles told BT Sport, as reported by the Metro.
“At the moment, things are looking pretty good in that way.”
It’s not just Ozil and Sanchez that will be looking for new contracts next year, as the likes of Santi Cazorla and Per Mertesacker will see their respective deals expire at the end of this season.
Meanwhile, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made the headlines earlier this week after claims that he could represent another contract headache for the Gunners.
Nevertheless, while Miles’ comments could be interpreted as just trying to paint a positive picture and keep supporters optimistic, many will hope that there is genuine progress to be made and that key players will commit their long-term futures to Arsenal.
Both Ozil and Sanchez have been in excellent form so far this season, with the former scoring nine goals and providing six assists in 20 appearances while Sanchez has contributed 13 goals and 11 assists in 21 outings in all competitions.
In turn, it shows just how important it will be to Arsenal’s hopes of long-term success to keep the pair, while the short-term goal for Arsene Wenger will be to sustain their Premier League title push this season and avoid the contract talk being an unwanted distraction.