Arsenal ready to break wage structure to keep Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil following Arsene Wenger’s new contract
Gunners manager has persistently ensured his own salary exceeds that of his players - until now
ARSENE WENGER finally accepts he can no longer be Arsenal’s top earner if his team are to compete for major honours.
The Frenchman has been their highest-paid employee throughout his 21-year reign — arguing a manager is the most important person at any club.
But Wenger will now rip up the club’s strict wage structure so he can compete with Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City in the transfer market.
His new two-year contract means he will continue to earn around £160,000 a week — about £10,000 more than the basic wage of highest-paid player Mesut Ozil.
But the German midfielder and fellow contract rebel Alexis Sanchez are both looking for £300,000-A-WEEK deals to stay at the Emirates.
And Wenger reluctantly accepts that is the level of pay they now must offer to attract world-class stars to the club.
Contrary to reports in France, the Gunners have not made an £87million bid for Monaco striker Kylian Mbappe, 18, as they believe he is destined for Real Madrid.
But they are targeting players in that elite bracket and accept it means paying top dollar to compete with their mega-rich rivals.
After signing his new deal, Wenger confirmed: “We will only look for players of top, top quality who can make a real difference to our team.”
As well as monitoring Mbappe, Wenger is also trailing Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette, Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata and Andrea Belotti at Torino.
But United, City and Chelsea are also tracking those players, who will all be looking for wage deals in excess of £12.5m a year.
Arsenal’s directors are aware their club has been mocked for being linked with every top player but never signed them.
Wenger’s hesitation in the market has seen them miss out on Gonzalo Higuain and Luis Suarez in recent years and the board do not want to be caught napping again this time.
They will not look to sign more than three players this summer — although those plans will change if Sanchez and Ozil cannot be persuaded to pen new deals.
But Wenger is confident that a lack of Champions League football will not affect his ability to land top targets.
Both United and Chelsea were able to make major signings last summer despite missing out on the top four — and Arsenal believe they can do the same this time.
The Gunners spent £90m last summer on Shkodran Mustafi, Granit Xhaka, Lucas Perez, Rob Holding and Takuma Asano and have budgeted for more than £100m this time.
Their current wage bill is the fourth highest in the Prem at £234m but is set to soar on the back of their new philosophy.