Arsenal pair Alexis Sanchez and Hector Bellerin are being targeted for January moves according to reports.
The Chilean forward has been the subject of strong speculation in recent weeks, with claims that he is demanding more money than the Gunners have been willing to pay thus far.
Sanchez will enter the final 18 months of his contract should terms not be agreed on an extension by January, which could lead to a stressful winter window for us.
Manchester City were linked with an interest in reuniting the forward with former boss Pep Guardiola, but now Juventus have emerged as preparing an offer for him.
Hector Bellerin is now said to be a strong target for former club Barcelona. The Catalan club are not happy with Dani Alves replacement Aleix Vidal, and the club have already been talking about the Arsenal full-back throughout the summer.
The young defender is one of the first names on the Gunners team sheet, and his form even earned him a place in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year last term.
Bellerin was also promoted from the Spain Under-21 side to the senior squad this summer, and a move to one of the two main Spanish sides would be a huge boost to his chances of earning a regular role in the starting XI.
Mesut Ozil is also in the same contractual situation as Sanchez, but has reiterated on a number of occasions that he is happy, while Sanchez has not.
Bellerin has also said he is happy and enjoying his role in North London, but could he be tempted to return?
Would one of these exits trigger another? Could a Sanchez move make Ozil consider his future also?
Pat J
Early days.. Let’s see how we do on the pitch as I’m sure a few stars of ours are keen to do as well before they get into big contract talks.
But yes. If we do lose Sanchez without a replacement lined up and ready to go I think a few other members of the squad will re-evaluate the club. Players wanting a new challenge is unfortunately somewhat inevitable if we don’t improve our position in the league and CL. The ability to replace those players has to be done better though.
Let em go, Bellerin was bad v Hull, Walcott made good runs behind and didn’t receive the ball,waisted runs plus Sanches has no Left foot even toe punted with his fight, Awobie will be better than him. CB
It’s very worrying because we know they want these players. After the fab ordeal and then our history of losing players to city, you’d have to be at the least a little concerned. I have to believe we brought up Alexis’s contract last season, the final 18 months is a bad position. When they want to go they usually say, I want to concentrate on my football for now, and we’ll talk in the summer. Then they have one final season which means we have to sell, I’m worried. Bellerin, I do believe he’ll go to Barca, but I don’t think it will be this season or the next one. When he matures a bit more, like with the timing of Fabregas, I think will happen. When you think about it, Alexis is probably the very best winger that city could go for, and Bellerin is similar. I know some people wont like hearing this, they see at as some kind of defeatism, but it’s how I see it.
I think that bellerin is very happy at arsenal and very loyal to the club. However, he is from barcelona, any young footballer growing up in barcelona must dream about playing for barcelona. My concern is that if barcelona come calling then it will be a big pull. I do not see him moving for a couple of years and he may look at barcelona and think he could be a bench player, not first team regular. It did not work out for fabregas so bellerin may decide that he is better off staying at arsenal, if an offer is made and arsenal cannot refuse it.
What would help would be winning the PL and beating some of the top teams in europe over two legs. We need to win our home games against other top teams and at least draw away. We can make a start on this by beating chelsea on saturday. We also need to show some grit and determination, last season we missed so many golden opportunities and dropped points we should have won, it cost us the title.