Martin Keown believes Arsene Wenger will extend his stay at the Emirates

Following Arsenal’s extremely disappointing 3-1 defeat at the hands of Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, the Gunners have fallen a whopping 12 points behind the Blues in the Premier League title race and it would be fair to state that their hopes of claiming the English crown is already all but over.

With another season of disappointment, there have been widespread calls by the fans for manager Arsene Wenger to step down from his current position at the end of the current campaign when his contract expires and reports have claimed that the 67-year-old is seriously contemplating ending his two decade long stay with the North London side.

Nonetheless, the board clearly want Wenger to continue after tabling him a new two year extension and now club legend Martin Keown has gone on to state his belief that the veteran Frenchman will eventually sign a new deal with the club.

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Keown said, “That might be a tricky one but if you look at it I think Arsene Wenger will decide when he leaves the club. I believe he manages up and down within the club. They are going to want a run-up to a succession plan for a new manager and that will mean Arsene Wenger signing a new deal.

“I’m not sure if that sits completely well with the fans. But if you look at other situations, Manchester United losing Sir Alex Ferguson shows what can happen. I believe he will sign a new contract. It’s just really the announcement and when is the right time to make that announcement.

“He needs to continue to do well enough to stay in the job. If he gets in the Champions League once more and maybe wins a cup. I know people are dissatisfied with that and they feel change is necessary. But it could also go completely wrong the other way.

“I do feel he will sign that new deal but I also think it will be his last one and then Arsenal will look to make a plan.”

Atletico Madrid ready to swoop in for Alexis Sanchez

Alexis Sanchez’s future at Arsenal has been cast into huge doubt in recent months as he has not yet signed an extension to his current deal and there is a strong possibility that the Chilean international could potentially leave the Emirates Stadium next summer, especially as he will enter the final 12 months of his contract with the club.

A number of clubs will understandably be keen on signing Sanchez if indeed he becomes available and the Daily Mirror have reported recently that Spanish giants Atletico Madrid will look to make a swoop for the 27-year-old next year as a potential replacement for Antoine Griezmann, who is expected to join Manchester United for £90 million.

Draxler wants mate Ozil at PSG

Much like Sanchez, even Mesut Ozil’s time at Arsenal looks set to be up next summer as he has not yet signed a contract extension with the Gunners and there is already widespread speculation linking the German international to a host of clubs across Europe.

French giants Paris Saint-Germain have been mentioned as one of the top teams interested in signing Ozil and now midfielder Julian Draxler has stated that he would love to have his German compatriot join him at the Parc des Princes.

Talking to BeIN Sports, he said, "There is one German national team member I would like to see here. Mesut Özil. He can play in any team in the world. So if he wants to come, he will be welcome from my side anyway.”