Arsenal have added Alexandre Lacazette and Sead Kolasinac to their evergrowing wage bill this summer, as well as increasing the size of their squad, which Arsene Wenger already described as ‘heavy’ at the end of last season.It would appear that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has refused to sign his new contract with the Gunners, and this has left Wenger a very big dilemma, especially after stating categorically that the Ox would be ‘100%’ playing for Arsenal this season.
With Wenger already refusing to sell Alexis Sanchez, and announcing that Olivier Giroud will also be staying, Le Prof is running out of selling options to try and recoup some of the money he has already spent on Lacazette. We already know that Kieran Gibbs is on the market to free up space for Kolasinac, and probably Lucas Perez will be sold off cheaply at the end of the window, but there are few players that Wenger could get big bucks for other than Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Chelsea’s Antonio Conte is rumoured to be the main suitor for the Ox, with Man City also said to be monitoring the situation, and they are probably the two teams that are most likely to splash the cash for a player with only one year left on his contract despite Liverpool being the early-summer favourites to sign him.
But what will Wenger do? He hates the idea of strengthening a rival for the title, but can he really afford to keep the Ox on the books and then let him leave for free next summer?
Le Prof must be a very worried man at the moment…
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