Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez has reportedly delivered an ultimatum to the club, insisting that they either pay him what he wants or he’ll leave.
According to The Sun, the Gunners have made their offer to the Chilean international with a new £180,000-a-week deal, which represents a £50,000-a-week increase on his current contract.
However, that is still significantly short of the £30o,000-a-week deal that he is reportedly looking for, and so again there is a stand-off in negotiations.
It’s added that the huge £500,000-a-week contract offer from China could complicate matters, but ultimately it’s difficult to see the 27-year-old deciding to leave Europe at this stage of his career for a lucrative deal in the CSL.
In turn, it comes down to whether or not Arsenal and Sanchez can reach an agreement, and the longer it takes the more the pressure will build as his current deal runs until 2018.
The former Barcelona and Udinese star has been in inspirational form so far this season as he has led the Arsenal line and scored 14 goals and provided 11 assists in 22 appearance in all competitions.
While that has led to supporters insisting that the club should pay him what he wants, there is also a wage structure at Arsenal that must be considered and they might not see shattering that to appease Sanchez as the solution.
If the figures above are to be believed, the two parties are still some way off coming to an agreement. Sanchez put the pressure on Arsenal in an interview with Sky Sports this week, insisting that essentially the ball is in the club’s court to satisfy his demands while he focuses on football, and so it remains to be seen if the Gunners can finally tie his long-term future down.