Alexis Sanchez has said he's fully focused on helping Chile win the Confederations Cup this summer and any decision about where he will be playing his club football next season is in the hands of his agent.
According to the London Evening Standard, the 28-year-old striker has been offered a £300,000-a-week deal to extend his contract at the Emirates, but the failure of the Gunners to qualify for the Champions League is weighing on his mind.
The paper says that while Arsene Wenger is adamant Sanchez will be back in north London next season, the gaffer "may find a bid of £50m or more difficult to turn down, particularly if it came from the likes of Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain rather than Chelsea or Manchester City".
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
Wenger has little appetite for selling Sanchez to one of Arsenal's rivals but a huge bid from overseas may weaken his resolve.
As for the player himself, his only thought is on helping Chile win the World Cup test tournament in Russia, and he has tasked his agent with sorting out his club future. "He knows and will sit with the club and work out what is best for me. I am now focused on the cup," explained Sanchez.
There is more encouraging news for Gooners in the pages of the Daily Express with the paper reporting the response of Hector Bellerin to rumours suggesting he was Barcelona bound. "Don't believe everything you read... " tweeted the Spanish defender on Thursday evening, 24 hours after it was reported that Barca had made the 22-year-old their priority target and a deal was imminent.
Finally, according to The Sun, there's a slim possibility that Diego Costa could end up at the Emirates next season. Having been told he has no future at Chelsea, the Spanish striker is considering his options and the Sun claims that the Gunners and Manchester United have both made polite enquiries to the Blues, although a move to AC Milan is considered more likely for Costa.
