Arsenal name their price for contract rebel Alexis Sanchez

Alexis Sanchez may well want out of Arsenal in the summer, but the Gunners are not about to make it easy for the Chilean.

Arsenal are looking increasingly likely to lose Alexis Sanchez in the summer. Sanchez has failed to agree a new contract with the club as yet, and will have just one year remaining on his deal after this season.

If Sanchez is to leave the Emirates, however, it wont be a cheap transfer for rival clubs. Arsenal have set a price tag of £50 million for their star man, according to the Mirror, despite the 28-year-old only having just one more season on his contract.

Arsenal have struggled for much of this campaign to agree new deals with both Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, but with the season now in the final stretch, both situations are looking bleak. Sanchez currently earns £130,000 per week with the Gunners, and is demanding around £300,000 to stay.

Chelsea are the most recent Premier League club to be linked with Sanchez, although Arsenal are insisting a deal will not be done with an English rival. Talks of a potential move for Eden Hazard to Real Madrid, however, will no doubt only intensify those links.

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This awkward situation is self-made on Arsenal’s behalf. Sanchez may be refusing to sign a new deal now, but the club never should have allowed the contract of their best player to dwindle down so low. All the Gunners did was put the power in Sanchez’s hands – and he’s using it.

Now it’s just about figuring out how the club can best deal with the situation. Sticking to their guns on the price tag is one way. Although, if all potential buyers reject that price, are the club then forced to backtrack and sell for a lower price in the end anyway?

Meanwhile, If Sanchez ends up being forced to stay, how will that play out next season? Will the Chilean be happy and fully motivated to still play for the club? Will Sanchez be bad for team morale?

It’s all well and good taking a bold approach and perhaps keeping the player for the final year – but what are you really getting? In all likelihood, the £50 million price tag is merely a starting point for negotiations. Arsenal have to make the best of a bad situation now.

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You may as well demand top dollar and see how the market reacts. At this point, it’s a game of bluff and counter-bluff between the club, the player and potential buyers.

The summer transfer window will reveal who played their hand the best.

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