Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has opined that an enhanced financial package may not be enough to keep in-form forward Alexis Sanchez with the former English Premier League (EPL) champions.
Sanchez has been in excellent form this season. The Chile international is currently the joint top scorer in the EPL along with Chelsea striker Diego Costa, having found the net 11 times.
"Well, I would like to say the luxury of the modern game should be it's not only about the money, because the players make anyway wherever they play good money at this level.
"I believe personally, and maybe I am a bit naive, that it's more about getting to meet the player's needs. That's more about the way the club has values, the way the club has ambition, the way the club respects the players," Wenger was quoted as saying by the Guardian on Monday.
"So I think, for me, that is more important nowadays and an important ingredient for every player to consider. The money is good everywhere for everybody."
Sánchez's contract with Arsenal runs till 2018. The Chilean had arrived at the London club from Barcelona in 2014 for £30 million (around $38.3 million). He earns a weekly salary of around £130,000 (around $165,857) and is reportedly expecting that figure to rise to more than £200,000 ($255,164) in order to agree to a new contract.
Wenger admitted that Arsenal are going through negotiations with Sanchez's agent Fernando Felicevich in order to work out a renewed contract for the 27-year-old.
"Nowadays, you negotiate with the agents more than with the player. We are in negotiations, yes. The players are 18 months away from the end of their contracts, so it's normal. But the players always come in at the end, when it's a renewal" the 67-year-old Frenchman said.
"With the first contract you need the players, but after that, when you renew, 90% of the contracts are negotiated with the agents."
Arsenal are currently second on the EPL table with 31 points from 14 matches, three points behind fellow London outfit Chelsea.
--IANS
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