Arsene Wenger has confirmed he will offer Santi Cazorla a new
contract but insists Arsenal's future doesn't depend on whether Mesut
Ozil and Alexis Sanchez decide to stay, saying the club "is bigger than
that."
Cazorla had surgery this week on a foot injury and Wenger
had refused to say last week whether the club would exercise their
option to extend his contract by another year.
The 31-year-old
Spaniard's current deal expires next summer, but Wenger said on Friday
that "we will extend, certainly, with Santi Cazorla."
However, the Arsenal boss is still facing a fight to keep his star duo of Ozil and Sanchez, who have reportedly refused to sign contract extensions as they hold out for a massive pay rise, with only 18 months left on their current deals.
Losing
them would be a massive blow to a club that have insisted that their
selling days are over after a period when a slew of star players exited
for more money elsewhere.
Asked about the importance of proving
they can now keep hold of top talent, Wenger said: "Yes, but Arsenal is a
big club. It is not one or two players who will make the difference to
the club. The importance is that we are today in a financial position
that is strong, that was not the case before.
"That means as well
we are in a position where we can plan our future, and do what we want
to do. And what is important is always to take care of the values of the
club, and the identity of the club, and not to depend too much on one
or two players. The history of Arsenal is bigger than that."
Wenger said earlier in the day that he would not entertain offers for either Ozil or Sanchez next summer even if they refuse to sign new deals, meaning they could be allowed to leave for free the following year.
No
matter what happens, contract negotiations are likely to continue to be
a talking point for Arsenal throughout the season. Not only is Wenger's
own contract up next summer, several other players will also need new
deals before the end of the season to avoid a situation where they
become available for free the following year.
That includes Jack
Wilshere and Olivier Giroud, whose futures are also uncertain. Wilshere
went on loan to Bournemouth this season to resurrect his injury-ravaged
career, while Giroud has lost his starting spot to Sanchez and could
grow restless on the bench.
"We work as well on Giroud and on many
players, there are six or seven cases at the moment but that is the
usual case, it is every year like that," Wenger said. "Giroud, Wilshere.
That explains to you why we have a lot of work to do, but you are only
interested in two cases."
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