Alexis Sanchez contract: Arsenal to pay forward £155,000-a-week in five-year deal to top Mesut Ozil as highest earner

Arsenal are keen to sign their two marquee players down to long-term deals and could announce the extensions simultaneously

Alexis Sanchez could overtake Mesut Ozil as Arsenal's highest paid player (Getty Images)

Arsenal are on the verge of securing Alexis Sanchez to the club for the foreseeable future after talks over a five-year contract worth £155,000-a-week edged towards completion.

Sanchez has quickly emerged as one of the Gunners’ key players since his £35m move from Barcelona in 2014, and talks over a new contract extension began last month between the Arsenal hierarchy and Sanchez’s representatives.

The Daily Mail reports that those talks have now reached an “advanced” stage, and it’s added that a deal is in place that will see the Chile international become the highest-paid player at the Emirates.

Sanchez still has two-and-a-half years left to run on his contract, with his wages currently set at £130,000-a-week before tax – second only to Mesut Özil. However, the club are willing to up his pay cheque to £155,000-a-week which would see him surpass the Germany international and tie him down to the club until 2020.

Sanchez has returned to the club following international duty with Chile in their South American 2018 World Cup qualifiers, and it’s now thought that final talks will be held before an announcement can be made over the new contract.

But Sanchez is unlikely to be Arsenal’s highest paid player for long. The club are also ready to extend Özil’s contract ad increase his £140,000-a-week wages in order to maintain his position as the club’s key figure.

Özil’s contract has the same length of time left to run on it as Sanchez’s, and the club are eager to prevent either player enter the final two years of their contract in the summer and risk a transfer stand-off.

Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil are in line for new contracts at Arsenal (Getty Images)

With Arsenal performing well in the Premier League as they sit level on points with leaders Manchester City, the board are hopeful of announcing both new deals simultaneously in order to inject some momentum into their season.