Arsenal are approaching crunch time in their attempts to keep star-man Alexis Sanchez at the Emirates Stadium, as the Gunners ace has entered the final 12 months of his current contract and is being linked with a wealth of huge moves.

The likes of Manchester City and Bayern Munich have been linked to the Chilean ace, although Arsenal are desperate to keep hold of his services after a sensational season where the two-time Copa America winner netted 30 goals across all competitions.

A final outcome on Alexis’ future could still be a number of weeks away due to Chile’s involvement in the Confederations Cup, which begins this weekend, but Arsenal legend Ray Parlour has urged the Gunners to pay whatever it takes to keep hold of the former Barcelona man.

Speaking on TalkSport, ex-England international Parlour said:

“The club have got to make it an issue now and give the players the wages they want. They have got to step up now. I would say to Sanchez, ‘how much do you want?’ If his agent says, ‘we want £300,000-a-week’ you have to pay it I’m afraid.”

“They have come fifth in the league this year, which we know is not good enough for Arsenal’s standards. They won a trophy in the FA Cup.  The manager has been sorted out, that is on the backburner, now the [future of the] players is the most important.”

“If you want to compete with the likes of City, Chelsea, [Manchester] United, whoever it is going to be next year, then you have got to keep your best players.”

Arsenal have shown their willingness to spend big in the summer market with a number of astonishing reports indicating they could splash a world-record fee to lure Monaco starlet Kylian Mbappe to the Emirates Stadium, which is a statement of intent.

However, losing Alexis Sanchez would be a huge blow, particularly if he were to join a Premier League rival, and the Chilean certainly deserves the sort of contract that would make him the highest paid player in Arsenal’s history.

Alexis would be extremely difficult to replace if the Gunners failed to maintain his services and Arsenal cannot afford to lose a player of his calibre, particularly as they have plenty to prove next year after a disappointing Premier League campaign.