Arsene Wenger was in a good mood while talking to the media in Sydney, flanked by his senior players Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker and Petr Cech, and the Arsenal manager took the obvious question about the future of Alexis Sanchez in his stride.
When a reporter asked if Sanchez would leave Arsenal FC in this transfer window, the answer was short and emphatic: "No."
And when a follow up question was asked over if Arsenal would even consider selling their top scorer from last season to a rival club in the English Premier League, amidst rumours linking Sanchez with a move to Manchester City, Wenger was pretty emphatic in his reply again, although, this time the answer did take a little bit longer to complete.
"Yes, that is a continuation of what I said at the end of the season," Wenger said after insisting he won't sell Sanchez to another club in the Premier League last season. "That's what we will do.
"He adds great value to the squad and I think as well he is a great lover of the club."
The manager also insisted Sanchez, like anyone, has to respect the contract signed with Arsenal. The Chilean has less than a year remaining on his current deal, with negotiations over a new contract currently at an impasse.
"The players have contracts and we expect them to respect their contracts," Wenger added. "That's what we want.
"Nobody knows today if Sanchez will be on his final year of his contract next season, because he can extend his contract with us at the start of the season or during the season.
"So it is not necessarily the last year of his contract at Arsenal Football Club."
Sanchez, if transfer rumours are to be believed – and transfer news should always be taken with a large pinch of salt – has told Arsenal he wants to leave, with the forward keen to work under Pep Guardiola again, after the current Manchester City manager had brought him to Barcelona from Udinese.
More reports suggest Arsenal have told Sanchez and City the only way a deal can be struck is if they are offered a fee in the region of £80 million, which would be quite high for a player who could leave on a free transfer in the summer of 2018.
Other reports say Sanchez has asked for a contract worth £400,000 a week, which Arsenal have so far, politely, said no to. A contract of around £275,000 a week, though, is on the table, and it will be interesting to see if all parties involved can strike a deal.
If not, Arsenal should only consider selling Sanchez to a club outside the Premier League.
Either way, there is a lot of mileage left yet in this summer transfer saga, even after Wenger emphatically said Sanchez will not be sold, particularly to Manchester City or Chelsea.
