Arsenal Transfer News: Latest Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Armando Izzo Rumours

Contrary to earlier reports, Arsenal stars Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil will not be receiving bumper new deals to keep them at the club—for the time being, at least.

According to Chisanga Malata of the Daily Star, on the subject of new contracts for his key players, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said:

"

We have not started to talk about that with Mesut Ozil. With Sanchez it is the same situation.

At the end of the year they have two and a half years on their contracts and we have some time. We are not in a hurry and we of course want them to stay.

We will start the negotiations at some stage but at this point we have not started. From the new year to the summer we will certainly start it with all the players who have two years to go at the end of the season.

"

John Cross of the Mirror reported a new deal for Sanchez had been agreed upon as Arsenal sought to ward off interest from Real Madrid, while according to Don Balon (h/t James Phillips of Daily Star) the Gunners' Premier League rivals Manchester United are also interested in recruiting the Chilean.

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Sanchez enjoyed a magnificent debut season at the Emirates last season, racking up 25 goals and 12 assists in all competitions, and has followed that up with a solid start of seven goals and four assists in this campaign despite having a shorter pre-season after his Copa America exploits with Chile in the summer.

The 26-year-old's pace, lethal finishing and phenomenal work rate make him not only the Gunners' most potent attacking threat, but one of the only world-class forwards currently plying their trade in the Premier League.

After a difficult start to life in north London, Ozil, too, has established himself as a key player and is enjoying his best season yet in an Arsenal shirt. The German already has 10 assists to his name, making him one of the league's top performers as demonstrated by Squawka Football:

Further, contrary to the accusations of laziness that have been levelled at the 27-year-old during his time in England, BBC Sport's Marc Higginson noted the playmaker covered more ground than any other Arsenal player in the north London derby earlier in November.

It seems as though the pair will be offered new deals soon enough though. Neither are at all likely to move in January so it's important to ensure they're tied down by the summer at the latest, and that seems a likely outcome at this point despite interest from other clubs.

In terms of recruitment, Arsenal are reportedly monitoring Genoa's Armando Izzo, according to Italian newspaper Il Secolo XIX (h/t Damian Mannion of talkSPORT).

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Per Squawka, the defender has won 13 tackles and 15 headed duels in 10 appearances this season and has shown his comfort on the ball in completing seven out of nine attempted take-ons and maintaining a passing accuracy of 83 per cent.

Arsenal could do with some more defensive steel and it's possible the 23-year-old could provide that, but Izzo is far from the strongest candidate the Gunners could pursue. 

The centre-back could prove a useful acquisition for Arsenal, but for a club with title ambitions they should be aiming higher.