Arsenal stars Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez close to signing new contracts at the Emirates

MESUT OZIL  and Alexis Sanchez are close to signing new deals at Arsenal.

According to the , the two attackers have been convinced to stay on at the Emirates.

Ozil and Sanchez, both 27, have two years left on their deals but discussions were opened in May over extending their deals.

Talks were put on hold while the pair were on international duty in the summer.

Sanchez led Chile to the Copa America title while Ozil helped Germany to the semi-finals of Euro 2016.

But the Gunners are hopeful they will now commit their futures to the North London club.

The news will please Arsenal fans after years of players leaving the club for Premier League rivals.

And part of the reason Ozil could stay is the signing of his international team-mate Shkodran Mustafi.

The defender - a close friend of Ozil - arrived from Valencia in the summer and made his debut in the Gunners' 2-1 defeat of Southampton.

Sanchez had cut a frustrated figure at the end of last season after playing for both Arsenal and Chile over the summer.

And the former Barcelona forward was linked with a move away from the Emirates with Serie A champions Juventus interested.

But Sanchez refused to leave which has given Gunners chiefs the belief that he will put pen-to-paper on a new deal.