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Arsenal Set for Summer Clearout to Make Wage Bill Space for New Sanchez & Ozil Deals

By Jamie Spencer

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​New contracts for Arsenal pair Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil this summer could come at a severe cost for the Gunners, with reports suggesting that several player sales would be needed to cover the extra expense to prevent the wage bill from spiralling out of control.

Sanchez and Ozil have been stuck in a 'will they, won't they' saga for months. Both players are out of contract next year and could leave for free if the situation is not resolved soon.

Each is thought to be on £140,000-per-week, already at the top of Arsenal's wage structure. Rumour has it that new contracts would likely see those weekly salaries at least double to £280,000, immediately adding an extra £14.5m to the annual wage bill even before accounting for potential new signings.

According to the Independent that means a likely clear out led by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Olivier Giroud and Jack Wilshere.

It is noted by the newspaper that new Premier League cost control measures outline that a club's wage bill should not be £7m more than it was in 2016/17, or £19m than in 2012/13. Were Sanchez to sign the proposed bumper new deals on top of a handful of new players arriving without others first leaving, the wage bill would simply explode.

The Gunners are determined not to lose Hector Bellerin to Barcelona, despite a handsome £40m price tag on his head. That means a possible £25m sale of Oxlade-Chamberlain - Liverpool are one of several clubs that have been linked with the England star - and the exit of Giroud, with West Ham, Marseille and even Napoli now sniffing around the back-up front-man.

Wilshere's recent loan at Bournemouth was ended prematurely as a result of another injury setback and his Gunners exit seems inevitable, especially as the Daily Star notes that the club is currently reluctant to extend his contract beyond its expiry in 2018.

All signs point towards the former teen prodigy being released next summer. It is said that no clubs have yet made transfer enquiries, while Wilshere would be expecting a pay rise on his current £90,000-per-week deal if he gets his wish to stay at Arsenal, but the club aren't keen.