Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger was very clear when asked about the interest in his star players, namely Hector Bellerin and Alexis Sanchez.

Bellerin is wanted by Barcelona, the club he left as a 16-year-old, but Wenger is not going to let the Catalan right-back leave easily.

"The players have contracts and we expect them to respect their contracts. That's what we want," is what Arsenal's French coach said from his team's base in Sydney.

It's a message directed at Alexis Sanchez and Hector Bellerin, two players who have not yet re-joined the squad following international commitments in the summer.

On former Barça forward Alexis, Wenger said "no" when asked if he had asked him to leave the club.

Chile striker Alexis is in the final year of his deal and linked with Manchester City, but Wenger pointed out he does have an option to extend his deal at the Emirates.

He added: "Nobody knows today if Sanchez will be in the final year of his contract next season, because he can extend his contract with us at the start of the season or during the season, so it's not necessarily the last year of his contract with Arsenal."