Arsenal are preparing to offer Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez record-breaking contracts to keep them at the club.

• Club reported to be offering the pair £280,000 p/w
• The deals would make both players the highest paid in Arsenal’s history
• Both players have only 12 months remaining on their current contracts

The Daily Star, who are parroting The Telegraph, claim that Arsenal will offer both players £280,000 p/w to keep them at the club.

Ozil and Sanchez would become by far and away the highest paid players in Arsenal’s history should they accept the offer.

It’s perhaps a sign of Arsenal’s desperation to hold onto their two star players. The club find themselves in a difficult position again after allowing their contracts to run down.

With only 12 months to run, Arsenal will either have to sell or risk both players walking away for free, should they not want to stay at the club.

Ozil has been very forthright about his desire to stay at the club, saying he is comfortable at Arsenal and in London. However, he has been unclear about how much his future is tied to Arsene Wenger’s.

Sanchez, meanwhile, is the subject of interest from several clubs, including Bayern Munich, Paris St. Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City. Coming off the back of a 30-goal season, the Chilean has tremendous leverage.

To lose just one of the two would be a significant setback for the club, especially after missing out on Champions League football. To lose both at the same time would be akin to Arsenal losing Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri back in 2011.

There is some hope, however. The Telegraph claim that Sanchez may be agreeable to a two-year extension. That would give him the option of leaving while still being young enough for Europe’s elite to be interested. A lack of outside interest in Ozil may also work in Arsenal’s favour.

Fingers crossed that this side-show will come to an end soon.