I do not know if Ray Parlour is one of the former Arsenal stars who still has close links with Arsene Wenger and the club, as the likes of Robert Pires and Thierry Henry seem to, but our former midfield star does seem to think that the Gunners do still have a chance of keeping Alexis Sanchez at the club, despite the vast majority of recent Arsenal transfer rumours suggesting that it is only a matter of time before the Chile international secures a transfer away from Arsenal this summer.
Parlour has hinted in an Evening Standard report that a decent enough pay increase could keep Alexis in north London and whatever the weekly wage demanded by the striker and his agent, the ex Gunner thinks we should pay it, even if it means smashing the club’s wage structure and giving Sanchez around double the amount he is on right now.
He said, “They’ve come fifth in the league this year, which we know is not good enough for Arsenal’s standards. They won a trophy in the FA Cup. The manager has been sorted out, that’s on the backburner, now the [future of the] players is the most important [issue].
“If you want to compete with the likes of [Manchester] City, Chelsea, [Manchester] United, whoever it’s going to be next year, then you’ve got to keep your best players.
“I would say to Sanchez… ‘How much do you want?’ If his agent says ‘we want £300,000-a-week’ you have to pay it I’m afraid.”
With Metro reporting on Saturday that our EPL rivals Man City are willing to offer the 28-year old almost that much to sign, making him their best paid player, you feel that Arsenal and Wenger need to be just as forthcoming, but will the Frenchman and the financially careful Arsenal board see it that way?
Could we still keep Alexis Sanchez by giving him a huge pay rise or is the writing already on the wall?