'Alexis and Ozil after bonkers money, but Arsenal have to pay'

Harry Redknapp believes Arsenal need to offer Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil "the highest salary in the Premier League" in order to avoid two top talents slipping through the net.

Arsene Wenger remains optimistic regarding contract extension talks with his big-money acquisitions, but neither have committed to fresh terms as yet.

A lack of new deals at the Emirates has sparked unwelcome transfer talk, with Ozil and Sanchez having shown themselves to be world-class performers in Spain with Real Madrid and Barcelona and now on a Premier League stage.

Redknapp believes the pair are ‘among the best in England’ and deserve to see such a standing financially rewarded.

He concedes that "bonkers" money will be required to get deals over the line, but acknowledges that Arsenal have more than enough to loosen the purse strings.

Redknapp wrote in a column for the Evening Standard : “Sanchez scored again at Everton and his contract situation along with Mesut Ozil’s is becoming a saga.

"Arsenal are going to have to pay top dollar to keep them because there isn’t much loyalty in the game anymore.

"They won’t sign for £100,000 a week less than they could earn somewhere else and although what they are demanding is bonkers to the man in the street, it is the going market rate: they want to be paid the same as the best in England because they are among the best in England.

"There are a lot of players out there earning over £200,000 a week who aren’t as good as them, that’s for sure.

"If I was in Arsene Wenger’s position, I’d push for the club to pay the highest salary in the Premier League. The fans pay the highest prices, they don’t have the debt they used to and the cost of replacing those two players in their prime like that would be massive".

Sanchez’s effort in a 2-1 defeat at Everton in midweek was his 14th goal of the season in all competitions.

He now sits level with Chelsea’s Diego Costa at the top of the Premier League scoring charts on 12 for the campaign, while Ozil has added five to Arsenal’s top-flight tally and four in the Champions League.