Report: Sanchez, Ozil want over £200K per week to end contract impasse

Deserving of a spot among the Premier League's best-paid players, Arsenal stars Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil are reportedly at a standstill with the club over contract discussions.

With just a little more than 18 months on the attacking duo's deals at the Emirates, it's understood that both Sanchez and Ozil are looking for a pay hike somewhere in the area of Paul Pogba's £290,000-a-week wage.

According to the Evening Standard's James Olley, the club is willing to offer extensions in the neighbourhood of £200,000, though that may not be enough to keep the pair who've combined for 15 league goals this campaign.

Pogba, whose league-best wage is followed by Manchester United teammates Wayne Rooney (£260,000 per week) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (£250,000 per week), has become the benchmark for Sanchez's and Ozil's demands, and rightly so, with Arsenal's title ambitions tethered to its star pairing.

Olley reports that among the two, Sanchez is more likely to consider alternatives to his current north London gig. Amid interest from Juventus and Manchester City, the Chilean could seek an exit if his £130,000-a-week deal is not at least doubled. Ozil, meanwhile, is Arsenal's highest-paid player (£140,000 per week), and is understood to be more settled than his tireless teammate.

Further discussions are reportedly planned for later in the week, with the club first off to Switzerland for a Champions League group stage closer with FC Basel on Tuesday.

Another variable contributing to speculation around the duo is Arsene Wenger's own contract uncertainty. The Frenchman is in his final year of a deal with the club, and with the gaffer yet to publicly express a desire to stay at the Emirates beyond this campaign, that ambiguity isn't helping the situation.

While the ambivalent nature of contract negotiations is sure to irk Arsenal supporters, Hector Bellerin's lucrative new deal should buoy hopes that the club has turned the corner on its selling ways.