LONDON: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said that lynchpins Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil would not be allowed to leave the club before their contracts expire, after 18 months. This week, the British media reported that Chilean forward Sanchez and German playmaker Ozil desired new contracts that would put them on par with the Premier League’s highest earners. While Wenger cannot guarantee that the pair would stay at Arsenal beyond the terms of their current contracts, he vowed that neither player would leave the club during the next year and a half. “These players will stay for at least 18 months. I cannot keep repeating that over and over again,” Wenger said during his weekly press conference at Arsenal’s training base. “At some stage you have to accept that negotiations are private and we do not have to come out and explain what we do during negotiations. We are professional people and we work until the last day of our contracts with full commitment.” “These players have 18 months on their contracts and, no matter what happens, they will stay for 18 months. Hopefully they’ll stay for longer than that too.” Sanchez, 27, and 28-year-old Ozil have been in sparkling form as Arsenal climbed to second place in the league table and secured a place in the Champions League’s last 16 as group winners. In the past, Arsenal cashed in on players unwilling to sign new deals, such as when they sold former captain Robin van Persie to Manchester United in 2012. But, according to Wenger he would rather let Sanchez and Ozil leave for free in 2018 than to sanction moves for them. However, he was unable to offer fans any guarantees that the duo will sign new contracts with the club. “We’ll try to extend their contracts, but I cannot make that the subject in every press conference because it’s a normal part of every renewal when you renegotiate. The less you talk about it, the better it is.” Wenger played down reports that former Barcelona star Sanchez could be tempted by a mega-money move to the Chinese Super League. “I believe it (that there has been interest). Yes, why not?” he said. “But why would you go to China when you’re playing in England? We live in a world where great players like Alexis and Ozil earn a lot of money.”