How Arsenal can free up cash and keep Alexis Sanchez

If the football press is right then the new Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette will not only become the most expensive player in the club’s history in terms of the transfer fee, with reports claiming that Lyon will receive anything between £45 million and £57 million, he will also become the highest earning player on the Arsenal payroll.

Papers like the Daily Express are saying that the French forward will be on a weekly wage of £200,000 and that is twice as much as our current French centre forward Olivier Giroud takes home. However, Arsenal fans are still hoping that Lacazette’s wages will soon be overtaken by those of Alexis Sanchez, as that is what it will take to keep the Chilean if he can be persuaded at all.

The problem with that is that it was reported recently that there are EPL rules which stop clubs from making a big increase in their total payout on wages, so how can Arsenal afford to pay the new man and give Sanchez a big pay rise?

Pretty easily actually, if the salaries of the Arsenal squad in another Express report are to be believed. It says that Matthieu Debuchy is on £70,000 a week and so is Lucas Perez. Gibbs is on £60,000, Jenkinson is on £45,000 and Jack Wilshere is on an incredible £90,000 a week. Take all of these players off the wage bill and you would not really weaken the Arsenal squad but you could free up enough to pay Lacazette and double the wages of Alexis.

Is this how Wenger is going to manage to hold on to his star striker Sanchez this summer?

Watch all 37 goals that Lacazette scored last season on our new Arsenal Videos Page

Sam P.

41 Comments

  1. Get rid of the deadwood, and under no circumstances should the club offer Ozil nearly 300k p/w! Although I think they’re stupid enough to already have.

    1. Believe it not I would prefer Ozil over Sanchez.. I feel Sanchez especially put himself before the team and caused a lot of friction right when we were rop of the league… Arsenal should have paid him ehat he wanted then which was probably a lot less than he is asking now! however I dont like the fact he is now trying to take control.. Arsenal is bigger than any one individual ( and that includes Wenger !) ..
      Going back to my point re Ozil.. I think he is a team player and now we finally have a fox in the box in Lacazette I think his assit record will go through the roof ! that will also free up others like Ramsey to come storming through the gap left by Lacazette taking defenders out of position..
      Im not convinced by Mahrez and actually think Walcott can do a job inter changing with Lacazette and learn off of him
      Maybe Lemar and Lacazette to replace Sanchez (who MUST NOT be sold to a PL rival!) .. plus Sead looks a beast gives me lots of excitement for the new season.

      This is just my opinion so hopefully we can all have a good dialogue on the above rather than have a go at each other

      After all , we are all arsenal fans.. !

      1. Well said mate, you will get lots of thumbs down as you have mentioned King Sanchez- but you are correct and well done for saying it.

      2. As I’ve said before, maybe Alexis hasn’t got the best attitude off the pitch, but what counts is the attitude shown on the pitch. No one at the club in any role comes within a million miles of the attitude that Sanchez shows during a game. Take him out of the side, and Arsenal would have comfortably finished 7th last season, and they would not have even made the cup final.

        Ozil doesn’t turn up in big games, and has had one good season out of four. How could you possible pick him over Sanchez? Sanchez is even getting more assists, despite Ozil being a playmaker! Sanchez defends from the front, tracks back, tackles, wins back possession, Ozil doesn’t do any of that!

        Even if you think that Sanchez is trying to take control, is that not a good thing? Wenger’s been in control, and look where it’s left us! We’ve needed someone to shake things up at the club, and that’s what Sanchez has done. I applaud him! Ozil doesn’t care if we win, lose, or draw, just as long as he gets to play, and picks up his big wage! Sanchez wants big money also, but at least he cares what happens on the pitch.

        1. sure…. so let him sign the 300k per week contract thats on the table ! its got nothing to do with attitiude.. he has a great attitude on the pitch but if he wants out and thinks he can win trophies elsewhere then he should just go do it and not hold the club to ransom for £400k per week !!

          1. PS wenger is the one who bought Sanchez and turned him into this great player.. he was on bench at Barca a lot ! so a little bit of loyalty is due.. will he get the same game time at Citeh with Jesus and Aguero ahead of him ?! Most of us would be very happy with a swap for Aguerp so he is not irreplaceable.

            1. Of course, if he, or any player wants out, then get rid of them. Stupid of Wenger to say we’ll keep him whatever happens though!

              I see what your saying about loyalty, but on the flip side, Sanchez is probably looking at what Wenger has achieved in the last 11 years, and he knows in his head that he’ll NEVER win a major trophy at Arsenal with Wenger in charge. The guy is in his prime years, and should be playing for a top club, and of course is going to ask for crazy money given the strong negotiating position he’s in.

              Another side of the argument, is that he does want to stay, but is stalling on a new deal to almost force Arsenal into finally showing some ambition. We finally have a prolific striker for the first time in five long years, and it’s only five days into July. Maybe Sanchez IS having a positive impact?

            2. exactly. we very ill thinked to think that Sanchez is a god. no one is irreplaceable. Is he the best player in the world?
              we can get a good player to replace him just the same way we got him. how many fans were talking of him before we bought him?!
              some dint even know him.
              There is always a solution. You let him hold us ransom and we done. No player is bigger than the team.
              he came when we were loosing our CL games at the round of 16. Did he change that as an individual if he is really that one man?
              He came when we used to finish the EPL at number 4.Did he change that?
              is it not at his peak that we’ve not made it?
              Arsenal is not a one man team. we area a TEAM.
              i like his energy but if he feels arsenal is not for him,
              let him go.

              1. Only players like Ronaldo or Messi deserves that outrageous salary… Ronaldo dragged Real to Champions league glory, Sanches can not even take us to top 4, and he wasn’t the one that won us the FA cup. How many fa cup matches did he start?, maybe we would have finished 4th if we don’t have Sanchez in our team, who knows? You guys talk as if losing Sanchez means we won’t be 11 on the pitch. Due respect to him for his hard work and contribution though.

        2. Hey ThirdManJW I thought I told you to shut he hell up because you don’t know what you are talking about. How Is Sanchez taking control and holding up our club to ransom a good thing? Sanchez certainly deserves 300k per week but definitely not 400k per week. That’s what Ronaldo and Messi earns for their clubs. Yes I do blame Arsenal for putting themselves in this position and not tying Sanchez down to a new contract much earlier, but its now done and we now have to make the best of this situation.
          Which means not selling Sanchez to a pl rival whatever they may be offering..i am sure we have enough money in the bank. Sanchez has one year left on his contract so we have no obligation to sell him whatsoever. We must try do everything in our power to make him sign a new contract over the course of the season, hopefully if we are top by January (which we usually are) that will give him enough of a reason to sign a new contract. And please stop bashing Ozil! I agree he didn’t have the greatest of seasons last season but he is still one of the best CAMS in world football. No one has provided more assists than he has since he arrived in the pl in the 2013/14 season. He has the new record for assisting for in seven consecutive pl games and he has created the most chances in a pl season. We all know if Giroud was a better finisher Ozil arguably could of had 25 assists in the 2015/16 season.

          I really believe Ozil will replicate his form from the 2015/16 season. Just like that season he has just had a summer with no football and will have a full pre-season. And with Lacazette in the team, I believe this will be the season Ozil will break the pl record for most assists in a season (if he doesn’t get injured of course).

          1. Haha, mate just shut up yourself. Go watch Ozil in the big games and get back to me. A WC player needs to be consistent and do it in the big games. Ozil is fairly consistent, but flops in the big games.

            And Sanchez asking for £400k p/w, what’s your source…The Mirror hahaha!!!!!
            Mate, around 95% of football rumours in the papers are just made up! You’re not one of these plonkers who believes every thing you read are you?

            1. Alright I admit Ozil barely performs in the bigger games. I would obviously prefer if he assists or scores against Chelsea than against Burnley. But the team’s performance can also help bring the best out of Ozil in the bigger games. When the team is performing well in the big games against the big boys Ozil is not far away from being the reason. Basically if the team performs, Ozil will perform.

          1. Don’t be an idiot please. Ozil is probably worth 180k a week. He just needs to pitch up more in the bigger games. I really don’t care if he doesn’t help with the defending, as long as he is doing his hob and assisting. His job is to assist. Helping out with the defence is a bonus when it comes to players like Ozil. Obviously I would want him to be more like Sanchez to attack and track back to help the defence, but not everyone is like Sanchez..in fact no one is like Sanchez..that’ts why we can’t sell him!

  2. No player is bigger than the club, paying silly money doesn’t guarantee success. Leicester won the league paying a pittance and have players hungry for work/success rather than money. I want Sanchez to stay but if he insists on silly money say goodbye and we can move on

    1. It’s the surest bet though. In the last ten seasons (I think you know where I’m going) 9 / 1. Or just look at Abramovich, then the sheiks, not to mention utd running amok (oops) when they were the only super power. It all points one way.

    2. Alexis worth the money he demands and some more. Just because he signed for Arsenal, does not mean he should make a fraction of the money players at his level make. He is at the top of his game and it is his time to call his price and he deserve every penny. The man is working like a machine, giving 110% of his talent. I hope Wenger do not lose a player like Alexis and rob us from admiring his magnificent skills. Other clubs offer him large sum not because they are idiots, but they know he worth that much, so why Arsenal lose its magnificent player to competitors?

      1. Reports claim that Sanchez wants £400,000 a week to stay at Arsenal ?? Do you want to tell him… Or should I? ??

    3. Yes and the same players got greedy doubled their salaries and started playing like divas until their coach was sacked. Money talks it always has.

    4. I don’t think Sanchez has done great things like those of Henry, pires and backhamp so if she asks that abnormal salary he can leave also it means he doesn’t have team on heart. I don’t mean should go we need him to play with lacazatte and ozil so that we win trophies.

  3. The 140 grand a week albatross should go but no bidders … Which idiot offered him that package two years ago .. Just asking!!!

    1. So true he chose arsenal over Liverpool so if he feels he wants that much the he should go elsewhere and warm the bench because the same guadiola was using him as a sub at barca and I don’t see him unsettling Leroy Sane ,Aguero , Jesus and Sterling… Let’s see where he goes and what will happen city is not really a power house in england they just over spend then rely on luck over Manchester united on deadline day with an expensive collection of players not really a team later on with a collection of gunmen in form of negredo aguero and dzeko. Last season they spent a whole lot and ended the season without any silverware. Of course the club needs to cut down dead wood but surely sanchez does not deserve 400000 and he knows it check his stats well he just has 34 international goals and last season was arguably the best season of his career and he is just trying to push for a contract to get rich for that. They talk about Ozil disappearing in big matches because there was not a natural finisher in the team closely look at how Sanchez performed in the Confederations Cup against Portugal he disappeared in the final again he disappeared but looking at Ozil a world cup winner and call him less than sanchez is an insult he was the only signing made when he came in and delivered an F.A cup triumph in his first season and last season his third F.A cup triumph he was in the thick of every move forcing the best goalie in the premier league to be at his best producing to big saves and striking the bar late on. Bayern wins it all in Germany and they say they can not afford his wage beacuse its ridiculous first he has to score 30+ goals like Suarez and Ronaldo then yeah he will deserve.

  4. You know it’s funny. I have yet to hear Alexis or the club come out and say anything about his wage demands. I keep saying this and I will continue to repeat it. Where did this rumor originate and is it a reliable source that said it? The only site i trust with any reliable information on Arsenal and its dealings is bbc and in particular David Ornstein. Ornstein is one of the few credible journalist in world football and he said there is a 300k contract offer on the table for Alexis and Ozil so that is what i believe unless he reports otherwise. We have no clue what is going on behind closed doors. For all we know they may just be waiting until Alexis gets back and signs his contract for them to announce the contract extensions or maybe they will announce it during the next kit launch as a promotional deal if we sign another player by then and is just going to be apart of the promotion. Alexis has said in the past that he doesn’t like to deal with the media because they love to exaggerate and twist everything – He rarely ever speaks to the media. He may have the occasional outburst but everyone knows he is a very passionate player and loves to win so it is only natural that sometimes he will get angry. Alexis hasn’t done like Van Persie and come out and downright disrespect the club and neither has Ozil so stop the conspiracy theories. They both usually conduct themselves like proper professionals so stop disrespecting them.

    1. I agree with you, but to be honest it seems like Sanchez is playing us. Either he just wants a big money move or he wants a big money contract to stay at the Emirates. Either way he is calling all the shots, which should never happen. No player is bigger than Arsenal, not even Sanchez.

      1. Not necessarily. Based on the kind of person he is I am of the impression that he is trying to keep the media out his negotiations. You also have to take into account that not every interview that is translated that the translations are in fact correct – It could be the media twisting Alexis Sanchez statement and because most of us were not present or will ever get the full transcript of what he really said in his last conference we cannot translate it for ourselves to know the truth. I know Alexis loves Arsenal and must have some amount of respect for Arsene Wenger because when the fans turned on Wenger last season it was Alexis who came out and said why are we disrespecting and abusing Wenger like that. The fact that Alexis would come to his defense says alot yet I see people on here demonizing Alexis like he was Diego Costa. The same can be said of Ozil – he was one of the major influences in getting Mustafi to join. If he was so intent on leaving and didn’t like it here at Arsenal then why would he says he loves it here. Both players have improved various aspects of their playing styles under Arsene and I am sure they are grateful for that. The one issue that seems to have had a massive influence on the current situation was Arsene Wenger’s contract situation and the way it was handled by the board. If you put yourself in their shoes would you sign a new contract when the person who primarily convinced you to come to Arsenal in the first place you aren’t sure of his situation. Also there are many things that go on during a contract negotiation so we need to be patient.

  5. It was great to hear that Lacazette signed for Arsenal, now if Wenger could add Mahrez, the front line will be solid. The next challenge will be to figure out the mid-field. Wenger need to replace Ramsey and Xhaka. Neither one of them fit the position, individually nor as a pair. Elnany and Couqlin make a much better pair than the previous two. One good replacement for Carzola would have been wonderful. I don’t agree with the idea of letting go of Ospina, knowing that not that many reliable golly’s are out there to shop around. Chech had done enough and it is time for him to go. Please keep Ospina and find him a good deputy.

  6. Rumor on the streets has

    Sanchez demanding $400K a week
    Ozil seeking $350K a week

    Wenger and Co. are ultimately responsible for this contract mess, but honestly both players can piss off with there extortion tactics and play there futbol elsrwhere next year. Ship Sanchez to City and shop Ozil around to European clubs for whatever they can get. I just cant see Arsenal ever paying such weekly wages, nor let them leave for free and contrary to the boards belief both players can be replaced.
    Lemar, Mahrez, Seri and Carvalho would do the trick.

    1. Citeh will not pay him £400k – their highest paid player is on £220k – they won’t want to pay almost double that, as all the prima donnas will be knocking on the door wanting the same. AFAIK Rooney is still on the highest paid standard contact at £250k, Ibrahimovich could’ve been on more, but no one knows as apparently it had all sorts of clauses in it – so Alexis will be asking for 150k more than anyone else in the EPL. Have always backed Alexis, but that is simply too much. Let him play his last year, and see if he or his agent recover their senses. At 29, his powers will be on the wane anyway.

      1. Just curious here….No one has actually heard Sanchez himself say “I want 400k”. The club hasn’t come forward with the truth either saying “he wants this or that”.

        So all this is non sense and we all are feeding on mere speculation.

        How about Wenger himself moving the strings in the background to hide the truth. If Sanchez has already said to the club that he is leaving, Arsene will want to hide that as long as possible to lure new players to a strong team.

        On the other side if Sanchez has agreed on signing an extension for 250, 300 or whatever it is…then Arsene will try to keep this hidden as long as possible so new players won’t raise their wage demands as well.

        No player wishing to keep good relations with his club will desobey an order to remain silent…Sanchez told that in a press conference during Confed Cup…”I have decided…but CAN’T tell you”.

  7. Best Arsenal lineup at the moment

    Lacazette
    Sanchez Ozil Walcott
    Xhaka Ramsey
    Sead Koscielny Holding Bellerin
    Cech

    1. Prefer…unless Caz was fit.
      …………………Cech
      …….Holding..Mustafi..Koscielny
      Oxlade….Ramsey….Xhaka….Kolasinac
      …………Ozil……………….Alexis
      ……………….Lacazette

      1. …………………Cech
        …….Holding..Mustafi..Koscielny
        Oxlade….Ramsey….Xhaka….Kolasinac
        …………………….Ozil…………………….
        ………Lacazette…..Alexis………………

        Sanchez has played alone in front and was somewhat effective. what if he is paired with Lacazette. We get a freed up Sanchez to casue havoc and Lacazette doing his Lyon business. Ozil id best in the central attacking role and with tow superior targets to hit at…

      2. You both wrong.

        ………………..Cech
        ……Mustafi…Koscielny…Monreal
        Bellerin…Ramsey….Xhaka…Kolasinac
        …….Ozil………Sanchez
        ………..Lacazette

        I honestly feel we need to give Mustafi a chance. Remember Koscielny when he first arrived. He was below average, and he scored quite a few own goals if my memory serves me correct. Mustafi is a bit rash but he is decent in the air, times his tackles well and has good pace so will hardly be beaten, so I honestly believe he will be much better this season.

  8. This has been a rare happy day for us. The last happy day was the FA Cup final.

    I hope Lacazette and Sead aren’t the only top signings we have this summer.

    I honestly don’t understand how the wages system works.
    Jenkinson earns more than Ospina, Iwobi and Lucas. Theo earns more than Cazorla, Giroud, Mustafi, Koscielny, most of the squad.

    Sead Kolsanic will get £140,000-150,000 per week.

    Ozil should not earn as much as Alexis. I want Ozil to stay but he hasn’t proven he should make that high of a salary. Alexis deserves the wage increase

  9. We can free up money not just to retain Alexis but also to add a quality CM like Koke,/Verratti if we wanted or at least Kovacic/Carvalho/Kimmich/Renato…..and not have to sell Wilshere

    Gibbs: 10m
    Perez: 15m
    Giroud: 30m
    Campbell: 8 to 10m
    Debuchy n Jenks: 6m
    Szczesny : 15 to 20m (insert buyback clause)
    Elneny: 10m
    …. Total approx. 100m.
    what more these players (except Giroud) are hardly even played so they won’t be missed.

    1. You will struggle to get £20m for Giroud due to his age!
      Even Juventus offered less than £10m for Szczeney!
      Some of these players are literally deadwood and we will struggle to collect the fees we think we can!
      If we were to sell it would be the following:
      Ospina £5m
      Gibbs £5-7m
      Debuchy £2-4m
      Jenkinson £5m
      Perez £13-15m
      Campbell £7-9m
      Akpom £3-5m
      Sanogo – released
      Mertesacker – coaching position
      Giroud should stay for another year as he offers a genuine plan B compared to Lacazette.
      Szczeney should go back out on loan and gain valuable experience and then maybe come back once Cech is ready to retire or cant be as effective anymore!

  10. The story here is about sanchez to be honestly i like wat he offers but if arsenal isnt enough to him then let it go rather damage a team, football is business HonerS do expect more than u n i at least this pple are trying to make Us happy by bringng good player as you can see last summer and this 1 so no need for sanchez to killl us coz of money no !Let Em go

  11. I think Sanchez has already proved that he is worth the money he is demanding. He is a beast when going on attck and awesome to watch whenever tracking back not like other players in the team. He even does the work of some player whereas they will stand on the pitch doing nothing. Let’s remember also he is at husband peak and businesswise he is trying to make money for himself. Give him what he wants and let’s have the best attack in the league .

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