It’s imperative that Arsenal convince Alexis Sanchez to sign a new deal,’ says Jamie Redknapp.

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp has urged Arsenal to speed up the contract negotiations of star forward Alexis Sanchez.

Sanchez, thought to be stalling over a new deal as he demands in excess of £200,000 a week from Arsenal, is being monitored by rivals Manchester City over a potential January transfer.

With City willing to match his wage demands, Redknapp has warned Arsenal that losing the Chilean could have a detrimental impact on the future of the club and urged Wenger to speed up the negotiations.

‘It’s imperative that Arsenal can convince him to sign a new deal before his current contract runs out in 2018,’ he said.

‘It’s imperative that Arsenal convince Alexis Sanchez to sign a new deal’

‘It’s not just about how much he brings to the team; tying him down would be a statement of intent and help the club to add more world-class talent.

‘They’ll find it very difficult to do so if they start losing their best players again, as occurred when Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri and Alex Song all left in the space of two seasons.’

Sanchez played under Guardiola for 2011-12 campaign at Barcelona before the City boss took a took a year’s sabbatical away from the Nou Camp.

Arsenal are also preparing contract talks with Mesut Ozil, who is looking for a raise on his current £140,000-a-week deal.