Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez reportedly fears that the Gunners will block a potential move to Premier League rivals Manchester City this summer.
The Chilean international has just 12 months remaining on his current contract, and with a renewal seemingly no closer to being agreed, Arsenal could be forced to sell him this summer to cash in.
According to The Mirror though, Arsene Wenger is adamant that the 28-year-old will not leave to join a direct rival, and so a move to City could be off the table despite the fact that Pep Guardiola is willing to pay £50m and offer wages of £280,000-a-week.
It’s added that Sanchez has been offered £275,000-a-week by Arsenal to stay at the Emirates, and in the event that he does decide to leave, it looks as though Bayern Munich could be the team to swoop for his services.
From Arsenal’s perspective, it’s the right strategy as ultimately they can’t afford to infuriate their supporters any further by selling to another Premier League side.
Losing Sanchez is a big enough blow in itself, and even though it’s claimed that City have now made the former Udinese and Barcelona star their top priority, they could be left frustrated in a transfer saga that may well rumble on deep into the summer.
Having scored 30 goals and provided 19 assists in 51 appearances last season, it’s no surprise that Arsenal want to keep hold of him. However, they’ll have to play hardball while it’s even possible they could force him to run down his contract at least and leave on a free next summer.