Arsene Wenger vows to bring in top recruits if Sanchez and Ozil leave

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has vowed to bring in top quality signings, should one or both of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil leave the Emirates this month. The pair have just six months left on their respective contracts, and they have been linked with moves to their direct rivals.

Sanchez has been a transfer target for league leaders Manchester City since the summer whilst Ozil has recently emerged as an option for Manchester United, who are aiming to find a replacement for Henrikh Mkhitaryan. In an exclusive with Sky Sports, Wenger admitted that the club in a difficult position with regards to the contract situations of Sanchez, Ozil among others, and he is prepared to bring in top-quality recruits to replace them, if required.

He said: "We are out there and look of course to do some things. We will do but when is very difficult to say because that does not depend only on us. We are open to any position for the exceptional player that can give us a plus. It depends a little bit on the injuries as well. On the other hand, it depends if we manage to extend the contracts of the players who are at the end of their contracts in June."

Meanwhile, Wenger dismissed the ongoing link with both David Luiz and Thomas Lemar citing that the reports were wrong, and the club have yet to make any movement in the transfer market. Arsenal take on Chelsea in the London derby on Wednesday night, and Wenger will hope that his side put in a strong performance despite recent injury concerns.

Mesut Ozil and Laurent Koscielny are among the key players due to have late fitness tests, and the latter's inclusion looks doubtful with Wenger citing that he has only a 30 percent chance of taking part. Aside from the pair, the likes of Sead Kolasinac, Olivier Giroud, Nacho Monreal and Aaron Ramsey are short-term absentees, whilst Santi Cazorla looks unlikely to feature this term owing to a recurrent Achilles problem.