Swiss league club FC Sion sacked former Gunners Alex Song and Johan Djourou this week after they refused to take pay-cuts.

Sky Sports report that Alex Song and Johan Djourou are among nine players FC Sion are letting go following a wage dispute. The club wanted their players to sign a wage-cut agreement during the suspension of the Swiss league, but nine reportedly refused.

Song joined Sion from Rubin Kazan in 2018, though he never made himself a consistent presence in their team. A number of injury problems limited him to 22 appearances in two seasons.

Meanwhile, Djourou actually only signed for the club this year. He made two appearances, picking up a hamstring injury 14 minutes into his second game.

Before that, Djourou was playing for SPAL in Serie A, with a similarly inconsistent appearance record. He played six games in half a season before leaving by mutual consent in January 2019.

The Swiss league suspended matches earlier than many European leagues, calling things to a halt on March 1st. The government banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people, so they didn’t have much choice.

Under the circumstances, you can understand why the club wanted players to take pay cuts.