As the clock ticks down towards the end of the summer transfer window, Arsene Wenger is perhaps growing increasingly confident of retaining his key players at the club.

Arsenal might not have made a plethora of new signings like some of their rivals have, but the big-money arrival of Alexandre Lacazette seems to have pleased the fans – even more so since he managed to score on his Premier League debut against Leicester City on Friday night.

SUMMER BUSINESS

Sead Kolasinac is another that has impressed so far, but the Gunners have enjoyed a successful window primarily because of the fact that they’ve been able to keep hold of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, while they’re still interested in AS Monaco’s Thomas Lemar.

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Wenger has gone on the record on numerous occasions to reiterate that the Chile international is going nowhere this season, and the north London side risks losing him for free next summer as he has only 12 months remaining on his current deal.

However, Wenger should probably be slightly nervous now as the Telegraph is reporting that Manchester City are planning to come back with another massive bid before the end of the transfer window.

City overcame the likes of Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain in the race for the 28-year-old, as Carlo Ancelotti’s side secured a two-year loan deal for James Rodriguez while PSG’s record-breaking acquisition of Neymar means Financial Fair Play regulations would probably stop them from making an offer.

HUGE OFFER

Wenger, however, doesn’t want to sell to a Premier League rival as that’s bound to cause plenty of uproar amongst the Arsenal faithful, but that won’t stop Pep Guardiola from making an approach for someone he’s clearly keen on linking up with again.

The source suggests that Guardiola is instructing his employers to offer the Gunners £60 million to tempt Arsenal into selling this summer, and are ready to offer him an enormous contract worth around £400,000-per-week, including image rights and bonuses – but only if they can convince Arsenal to sell.

City have already spent around £220 million on signings this summer, and they kicked off their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 win against newly-promoted Brighton, but Guardiola sees the former Barcelona star as a vital addition in the hope of challenging for major honours this season.

Sanchez wants the move, but is reportedly willing to wait out the final year of his contract before departing.

So, if City can’t tempt Arsenal to part ways with him this season, then it’s almost a certainty that Sanchez will be at the blue side of Manchester in 2018.

Should Arsenal cash-in on Alexis Sanchez this summer? Have YOUR say in the comments section below.