Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has claimed that it is an "ideal situation" to have players going into the final year of their contracts.
As many as eight Arsenal first-team players currently have one year remaining on their deals at the Emirates Stadium, most notably Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla.
Sanchez in particular has been heavily linked with a move away from the club this summer, but the Gunners are refusing to sell and are willing to risk him leaving on a free transfer next year.
However, rather than been perturbed by the situation, Wenger believes that it will become the norm over the next decade due to rising transfer fees and argued that it could work to his side's advantage.
"I think in the future you will see that more and more; players going to the end of their contracts. Why? Because transfers become so high, even for normal players, that you will see more and more players going to the end of their contract because nobody will want to pay the amount of money that is demanded and I am convinced that in the next 10 years that will become usual. I think it's an ideal situation. Everybody has to perform. When you are a football player you perform until the last day of your contract," he told reporters.
"What does it change that you have two years or one year to go? You go out on the football pitch, you want to play and to do well. I don't understand. Do you really think that you sit in the dressing room before the game and you think 'Oh, I have only one year to go - I will not play well today'? Where does that come from? When you're a football player you want to go out and play and do as well as you can. What has that to do with the length of your contract? It's a bit amazing.
"Even if (a player negotiating with another club) happens, it doesn't matter. You do well with what you do. I am amazed that you are surprised by that. It looks normal to me. Every situation is different. Sometimes you have players who run out of contract because you do not want to extend them. That's a bit different. Nobody knows if Sanchez will not extend his contract here. My situation can impact the players' situation in their minds. Any individual player does not impact the situation of all the players."
Sanchez, who is yet to return to pre-season training after illness delayed his comeback, is understood to be keen on an exit in order to play Champions League football next season.
Barney Corkhill
