Ozil and Sanchez can be persuaded to stay – Cech

Petr Cech is hopeful Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil will remain at Arsenal and believes it is down to the team to convince the duo to stay.

Sanchez and Ozil’s contracts expire in June 2018 and talks over renewing have so far failed to yield an agreement, fuelling speculation the pair could be on the move.

However, Cech is optimistic Arsenal’s star men will commit to staying if the club show ambition.

“I think for us it is important to show them how much we need them in the team and to show them how much we want to win,” Cech told Standard Sport.

“Then obviously it will make their decision easier.

“If they see that we are competitive, everybody is ready to win things together and they know how important they are for our team, then this will make their decision easier.”

Arsenal sit fourth in the Premier League, eight points behind leaders Chelsea. They were eliminated from the EFL Cup by Southampton, but their FA Cup ambitions are still alive following a 2-1 win over Preston North End, while Bayern Munich await in the Champions League last 16.