Arsenal rocked with Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil uncertain about signing new contracts

ALEXIS SANCHEZ and Mesut Ozil need persuading over whether to sign new contracts with Arsenal, according to reports.

UNCERTAINTY: Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez need persuading to sign new deals

The duo's present deals expire in 2018 and the Gunners are desperate to tie them down to extensions.

While negotiations with both players' representatives opened last year, talks have now been put on hold until the end of the season.

And The Times claim that both players need convincing to commit their futures to the club.

Arsenal are ready to offer both players wage rises to £160,000-a-week which would see them made the club's joint-highest earners.

Earlier this month Arsene Wenger said he was confident that both Sanchez and Ozil would sign new contracts, regardless of where Arsenal finish this season.Wenger's men led the Premier League table in January but now lie fourth, 13 points behind leaders and facing a battle to secure a Champions League spot with fifth-place Manchester United four points behind.

But The Times say both players want assurances that areas of the squad will be strengthened and that the club are able to compete for the biggest trophies.

They were also knocked out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage for a sixth successive year while they saw their hopes of winning a third FA Cup in a row ended by Watford at the quarter-final stage.

Failure to finish in the top four will reportedly see both Sanchez and Ozil reassess their futures and, even if that is achieved, they want assurances on future signings.

Wenger only signed goalkeeper Petr Cech last summer before adding midfielder Mohamed Elneny in January despite many observes feeling the Gunners need more world class signings.

But the Frenchman has suggested he will not make big changes this summer despite missing out on yet another title.

"No," he said last week on whether he expected many changes.

"If you look at the top three teams, you will see they have not changed their team a lot.

"The core is not good enough? That's an outside point of view. We have again to analyse it in an objective way.

"And this team has won many games and the quality of many games was at top level."