London - Arsene Wenger on Tuesday promised that Alexis Sanchez will not be sold to Arsenal’s Premier League rivals Manchester City or Chelsea this summer.
Sanchez has just over a year left on his Gunners contract and while it appears that he is no rush to sign a new one, Wenger insisted that the Chilean ace wants to stay, and that he wants to sign a new contract.
Asked how he could be so certain Sanchez wanted to stay, Wenger said, “First of all that he is happy here. His desire is as well to stay. That is what I deeply believe. The disagreements are more purely contractual. Not on the desire. Both parties have the desire to find an agreement, so I think it will happen.”
Reports suggest that Arsenal will be bombarded with a host of offers for their star forward, with
Manchester City, Chelsea and Paris Saint Germain said to be interested and prepared to pay between £40 million and £50 million for the player.
But Wenger insisted he would not sell him to a rival.
“I don’t think that you would sell him to any Premier League club, that is for sure,” he said.
“Why would you sell him to another [Premier League] club? You want to be as strong as you can be, and not strengthen the other teams.”
When asked about his own future at the club, Wenger instead talked about transfer targets.
"I work until the last day of the season for the present and future," he said.
"Transfer targets are the future of the club and are very important.
"That (my future) is secondary, what is important is the future of the club," he added.