Arsenal should pay Alexis Sanchez whatever it takes to stop him joining Manchester City, says Ray Parlour

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Former Arsenal player Ray Parlour has urged the club to pay Alexis Sanchez whatever he wants in a last-ditch attempt to keep the star at the Emirates Stadium.

Sanchez has just one year left on his contract at the club and has been linked with a move to Arsenal’s Premier League rivals Manchester City.

The club have already offered Sanchez a club-record new offer, but Parlour doesn’t think that is enough.

“The club have got to make it an issue now and give the players the wages they want,” Parlour said during an interview on talkSPORT.

“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.”

Sanchez has repeatedly refused to commit himself to Arsenal and, while away on international duty, the player said that his future was in the hands of his agent.

“I'm looking at what my agent is doing,” he said. “For now, I'm focused on the Confederations Cup in Russia and trying to do well.

“The truth is that my agent will see to it. He knows and he will sit down with the club to look for the best option for me. I'd like a lot of things but I'm only thinking about the national team.”

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has remained insistent that neither Sanchez nor Mesut Ozil will leave this summer as he attempts to hold on to the club’s prized possessions.