Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil are seeking assurances over Arsenal’s summer transfer plans before deciding whether to stay at the club.

Manager Arsene Wenger yesterday signed a two-year contract extension and now begins the task of transforming his squad into Premier League title contenders.

Wenger has about £100million at his disposal and will be given funds from player sales to reinvest in the team.

Standard Sport understands Sanchez was unhappy with Arsenal’s business in the 2015 close-season, when Petr Cech was the only new arrival.

The Gunners spent almost £90m last summer but their three major arrivals — Granit Xhaka, Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Perez — all failed to prevent Arsenal falling out of the Champions League for the first time in 20 years.

It is believed that Sanchez and Ozil discussed possible targets with Wenger towards the end of the season and they will now wait to see the club’s summer strategy in action.

In addition, Sanchez and Ozil are thought to have increased their wage demands in the absence of Champions League football next term.

Arsenal have offered Sanchez a package worth a maximum of £300,000 a week, while Ozil has an offer on the table in excess of £250,000 a week. The pair originally sought parity with the Premier League’s highest earners but now believe they are in an even stronger negotiating position and have upped the ante.

Arsenal transfer targets for summer 2017 6 show all Arsenal transfer targets for summer 2017 1/6 After signing a new two year contract at Arsenal Arsene Wenger is on the lookout for "top, top quality" signings.



Standard Sport runs down the names on his shortlist. Getty Images 2/6 Thomas Lemar - Monaco AFP/Getty Images 3/6 Kylian Mbappe - Monaco AFP/Getty Images 4/6 Virgil van Dijk - Southampton GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images 5/6 Riyad Mahrez - Leicester Michael Regan/Getty Images 6/6 Ross Barkley - Everton Alex Livesey/Getty Images 1/6 After signing a new two year contract at Arsenal Arsene Wenger is on the lookout for "top, top quality" signings.



Standard Sport runs down the names on his shortlist. Getty Images 2/6 Thomas Lemar - Monaco AFP/Getty Images 3/6 Kylian Mbappe - Monaco AFP/Getty Images 4/6 Virgil van Dijk - Southampton GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images 5/6 Riyad Mahrez - Leicester Michael Regan/Getty Images 6/6 Ross Barkley - Everton Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Sanchez is also using a £400,000-a-week offer from China as further leverage amid interest from a host of top clubs including Manchester City, Chelsea, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Paris St Germain.

It promises to be a busy transfer window for Arsenal, with several players expected to depart. Perez is at the head of the queue after his agent claimed yesterday that “the idea is to be able to play for another club”.

The Gunners face making a small loss on the £17m they paid Deportivo La Coruna last year after a season of limited opportunities for Perez. He started just two League games but did net a Champions League hat-trick against Basle in December.

A return to Spain is most likely, with Deportivo keen on re-signing Perez in addition to Sevilla wanting the player. It remains to be seen whether Everton revive their interest after they missed out on the 28-year-old when he moved to Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal will step up their search for a central midfielder after it emerged Santi Cazorla’s Achilles injury was much worse than first feared. Cazorla claimed yesterday he had undergone eight operations to cure the problem but will be out until October at the earliest.

Juventus midfielder Mario Lemina is among Arsenal’s preferred options.