Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is reportedly prepared to do a rebuilding job at the Emirates, should Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez part ways with the club in the summer.
The pair have been in a contract standoff since the backend of last season, and it appears that they will be allowed to leave when the transfer window reopens in the summer.
Ozil and Sanchez, both 28, are said to demand wages in excess of £250,000-a-week which is something the club’s hierarchy are unlikely to match as they approach the final year of their contracts.
According to The Mirror, the north London outfit have switched their attention to potential replacements with the pair more or less likely to call quits on their Premier League careers this summer. The North London club will back the manager with a massive budget of over £100m to ‘try to take the club to the next level.’
The Gunners have sold key players including Robin van Persie and Ashley Cole to their league rivals over the years, but they will prevent a similar situation from happening by offloading the duo to clubs overseas.
The Mirror adds that Wenger has identified Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette and Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe as potential targets to replace the attacking pair after he compromised to stay with the club for at least another season.
Lacazette has been often associated with a switch to the Emirates, and the manager is confident of landing the marksman following failed attempts over the past couple of seasons.
The France international has already admitted his ambition to move abroad following a fourth straight campaign where he has amassed 20 goals for Les Gones.
Meanwhile, Monaco sensation Mbappe is the other on the Gunners’ shortlist with Wenger previously deeming him to have the potential to match former great Thierry Henry.
The teenager has emerged as one of the most in-form attackers since February after having netted 13 goals in just 12 outings for the Principality outfit across all competitions.
Everton’s Ross Barkley has also been linked with a potential switch to north London this summer following no progress on his Toffees contract – due to expire in June 2018.
