Arsene Wenger is adamant that Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez will remain Arsenal players after the January transfer window.

The long-serving Gunners boss was asked in Tuesday’s pre-match press conference whether or not Ozil and Alexis would still be at the club at the close of the winter window, and he was left with no doubt in his mind that they would be.

Wenger has a dilemma in the coming weeks. He stated previously that he wants the contract situations of the two former La Liga stars resolved in December, but there appears to be no progress as things stand.

There are plenty of rumours suggesting Ozil will be joining Barcelona or Manchester United, but little indication he is looking to extend his stay at the Emirates.

As for Alexis, the Chilean international has been linked with Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, let alone the ongoing Manchester City rumours. Arsenal could lose two key players for nothing, robbing them of £75m in value from when they signed them.

However, their chances of getting back into the top-four of the Premier League do improve with the pair in the side, so you can see Wenger’s thinking. Arsenal passed on the chance to make £60m on Alexis, while they struggled to get any interest from Ozil.

Reports suggested the Gunners were open to a sale in the summer, but then made a U-turn after a poor start to the season.

Wenger hinted last month that he could still cash in during January, although now it appears he will keep the pair and maybe convince them to sign a new deal before their current one expires.