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With 18 months left on their respective deals, Arsenal duo Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez are understood to be demanding big wage increases to put them in line with some of the Premier League’s top stars if they are to pen new deals at the Emirates Stadium.

The pair are arguably the Gunners’ two best players and having scored 17 league goals between them this season as the side look to challenge for the title, so many supporters would give them whatever money they are asking for to commit their long-term futures to the club – but of course things are never that easy.

The Chilean striker and German playmaker are understood to be looking to double their weekly pay packets but the north London outfit pride themselves on ensuring that they are stable financially and some would argue that the two players aren’t worth the huge increase in money.

Here are THREE reasons why the Arsenal duo don’t deserve the new bumper deals they want…

Trophies

To get a significant wage increase, many Arsenal supporters, and neutrals alike, would feel that the duo must first help Arsenal to win a significant trophy – like the Premier League or the Champions League.

Ozil and Sanchez have failed to influence the club winning either of those competitions since they moved to the Emirates Stadium in 2013 and 2014 respectively, and they both went missing at times last season as the north London outfit missed one of their best chances of finishing top of the tree in the top flight in recent years as surprise package Leicester pulled off an unbelievable achievement.

Wage bill

Arsenal are renowned for being a club that make sure they don’t spend beyond their means, and that includes the wages they dish out to their players.

Ozil and Sanchez are said to be the top two earners in the team so it isn’t as though the duo are being underappreciated by the Gunners.

Wenger has come out and said that no player is bigger than the club so it will be interesting to see how the negotiations develop over the coming days and weeks, as the north London outfit won’t be held to ransom.

Consistency

While Ozil and Sanchez are both in fine goalscoring form this season, they do lack consistency and can be absent in some key matches.

Sanchez was electric in scoring a hat-trick in the 5-1 win at West Ham and gave Arsenal the lead with a deflected free-kick against Everton on Tuesday, but the Chilean forward and his German team-mate went missing for the majority of the match at Goodison Park as Arsene Wenger’s men were beaten in the Premier League for only the second time this season, which will leave some questioning whether the potential pay increases are warranted.

Southampton have not had the most impressive of seasons so far having won just six of their 20 Premier League games, which puts them 10th in the table at the halfway stage of the campaign.

The Saints have scored just 19 goals in the top flight, so they needed a boost when they hosted Liverpool in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final at St Mary’s on Wednesday night.

They got just that by sealing a 1-0 win, which gives them an advantage – albeit a slender one – heading into the second leg at Anfield in a fortnight’s time.

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Nathan Redmond was the man to nab the strike, resulting in his first career goal in the competition, but he could have had at least a hat-trick after producing five shots.

Redmond has scored three goals in 19 league appearances this season, bagging just the one assist.

The strike against Liverpool, which came in the 20th minute, could propel him into goalscoring form heading into this weekend’s trip to Burnley.

If anything, it provided a much-needed morale boost for the club following three consecutive defeats in the top flight.

Fans were quick to praise Redmond on Twitter following his match-winning performance against the Reds.

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Jamie Carragher had Twitter in the palm of his hands today, after a remarkable tweet emerged suggesting the Liverpool legend was returning from his retirement.Playing on the tabloid gossip that is linking seemingly every player in the world with a move to China, with those in question said to be earning an audacious amount of money, the former Liverpool defender hinted he’d be making his return in the Far East.

However, it wasn’t quite true as the Reds legend didn’t even send the tweet himself. Instead, his phone was hijacked whilst he was in the gym- although the remarkable story was left churning for a short while.

You won’t be watching Carragher back in action but at least you’ll have his insight on Monday night’s coverage of Premier League football. Still, given the perceived lack of competition in China you’d expect Carragher to do a fine job.

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Sergio Aguero is one of the finest strikers in the Premier League, perhaps in the league’s history, but the Argentine has struggled in recent weeks, at a time when Manchester City have needed him most.On the back of a 4-0 drubbing at Everton, Aguero and Manchester City could not return to winning ways in their clash with Tottenham Hotspur after Pep Guardiola’s side threw away a two-goal lead to end up sharing the points.It was a frustrating day all round for Manchester City but concerns are piling up on Sergio Aguero, who has been woeful against the best sides in the league.

Aguero has failed to find the net in any of his six matches against sides in the Premier League’s top-seven; a crop of teams that includes the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Everton.

Halfway through the crop of matches against the sides closest to City in the table, Aguero will be desperate to turn things around in the next six clashes- and he may even be playing for his future.

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Joël Matip will have his hands full trying to cover Premier League leading scorer Diego Costa at Anfield this evening.

When the two clubs met early this season, Costa scored but was unable to prevent Liverpool from taking all three points from Stamford Bridge.

In matches where Matip has been named in the starting XI this season, Liverpool have conceded just two goals and are yet to be defeated.

The 25-year-old has been working his way back since missing six matches with an ankle injury and then had to sit out due to an issue with FIFA and his supposed ineligibility to play for club football during AFCON. But now he’s back, Liverpool will need Matip at full form if they hope to halt Chelsea’s title bid.

Costa last scored in a 2-0 victory over Hull City and will no doubt prove to be a handful for Liverpool and will be tasked with further frustrating Klopp’s shaky side, which has lost the last three games at Anfield.

It’ll be an interesting battle, but who will come out on top between Matip and Costa…

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Manchester United have already opened talks to sign Monaco attacker Bernardo Silva and hold the priority on any potential sale, SportWitness quote Le 10 Sport as reporting.

What’s the word?

Manchester United’s pursuit of Monaco ace Bernardo Silva could be seen as a battle for Jose Mourinho’s side, as Le 10 Sport have reported that Barcelona and Real Madrid are chasing the Portuguese ace recently, but it seems the Premier League side hold an important advantage.

Per the most recent reports cited by SportWitness, Manchester United have already opened talks for Bernardo Silva, negotiating a priority on a deal until a specific date, and the possibility of a first refusal option has not been ruled-out.

If the latter was negotiated, the French principality side would have to notify Manchester United about any bid they had accepted, with the Red Devils then having the opportunity to match the offer with an approach of their own.

Bernardo Silva is likely to move on this summer, giving Monaco a profit on the £13.4m they paid Benfica for the player, and any deal is likely to be expensive.

Is he needed?

A player boasting five goals and five assists in 23 Ligue 1 appearances this season is certainly likely to attract interest from Manchester United but, looking at their current squad and their reported summer targets, a swoop for Bernardo Silva shouldn’t be a priority.

The 22-year-old attacking midfielder would join a United squad that already boast the likes of Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial, all of whom could play in his position. Of those four players, three have been signed in the past two-years.

Speculation on Martial’s future at the club continues to persist, as he’s regularly been overlooked by Jose Mourinho this season, but the worry for Bernardo Silva, and any young player, is that they could follow the path of Memphis Depay and, possibly, Martial.

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Leicester City have endured a huge collapse this season, standing just one-point above the relegation zone, but it was still a huge surprise on Thursday evening to see Claudio Ranieri dismissed just months after guiding the Foxes to Premier League glory.

With 13 games to go, Leicester need to kick-off a superb run of form to maintain their position in the top-flight but face a huge test on Monday evening when they travel to Jurgen Klopp’s top-four chasing Liverpool.

The Reds remain favourite for the clash with the defending league champions but the dismissal of Ranieri makes it a more difficult tie for the hosts, according to BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson, although he still backs them to secure a win.

“I did not see Claudio Ranieri’s sacking coming and I think it is a really strange time to do it, the day after a game [against Sevilla] in a competition [the Champions League] that they are still in. At this stage of the season, you would have thought they have done it having lined someone else up, otherwise why do it?”

“Why has it happened? Ranieri has made mistakes and probably kept faith with people who helped Leicester win the title last season for too long, but I have to say he seems like he has been let down by his players. I made my original prediction for this game before Ranieri’s exit and, although I have not changed the score, the situation makes it more difficult for Liverpool.”

“There is no doubt there will be more of a unified effort from the Leicester team, whether their new manager is in place or not. It always happens. I still think Liverpool will win, if they play like they did against Tottenham. It suits the Reds when they press teams all over the pitch, and that is definitely the way forward for them.”

Despite a potentially more unified showing from the Foxes, the fact that they have failed to score in the Premier League since the start of 2017 makes their task even more daunting- although Liverpool have hardly been solid at Anfield this calendar year.

Defeat for Leicester could see the Foxes slip into the bottom-three and they could even slip to rock-bottom of the division before the match if Crystal Palace, Sunderland and Hull City all secure victories in their matches.

Liverpool, meanwhile, could move to second in the Premier League if Tottenham lose to Stoke, as Arsenal and Manchester City’s games this weekend have been postponed.

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Leeds United supporters suffered a frustrating afternoon at Elland Road this afternoon, missing the chance to take a massive step towards promotion to the Premier League with a 0-0 draw at home to Queens Park Rangers.

On a day they defended stoutly, Leeds couldn’t muster up anything special in the final third, failing to really test Alex Smithies in the QPR goal across the 90 minutes.

It leaves their hopes of finishing in a play-off position in a precarious place with Fulham picking up a huge win away to Newcastle United, now just six points behind Leeds with a game in hand.

With Sheffield Wednesday and Reading losing below them, it could have also been a massive day if they’d picked up all three points.

Supporters have a mixed opinion on what today’s result means for their play-off ambitions with some seeing it as a vital point and others suggesting it’s a sign they are playing well above their station this season.

Can Garry Monk’s side find some wins and finish a fantastic season off in style?

Fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on it all…

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Southampton fans were bemused as the January transfer window slammed shut with Jose Fonte leaving for West Ham United and Virgil van Dijk suffering a serious injury, and no centre-back arriving at St Mary’s.

That left Maya Yoshida and Jack Stephens as the first-choice partnership at the heart of Saints’ defence, but supporters were worried and the club must have been too.

A little over a week later, it had been announced that the south coast outfit had agreed a deal to sign free agent Martin Caceres until the end of the season, although there was a certain risk around the move with the Uruguayan not playing for a year himself because of injury.

Despite that, the former Barcelona and Juventus man was in contention to start in Southampton’s defeat to Manchester United in the EFL Cup final last week, but he was an unused substitute in the end.

The 29-year-old did make his debut for the Under-23 side against Chelsea on Monday night though, and Saints supporters were quickly impressed with what they saw from the central defender, with some already excited about the potential partnership he could have with Virgil van Dijk, even though that isn’t on the cards until nearer the end of the campaign because of the duo’s fitness issues.

Here is a selection of the opinions on Twitter…

According to reports in The Sun on Tuesday, Southampton manager Claude Puel has come under criticism from midfielder Dusan Tadic having substituted the Serbian in the club’s last five matches.

It is a recurring situation that is starting to frustrate the 28-year-old, who believes he should be playing for the whole 90 minutes as he is an influential part of the team.

The latest case of him being hauled off by the Frenchman came on Sunday during Saints’ 2-1 defeat to Tottenham at White Hart Lane, while he was also taken off when the scores were level against Everton, Burnley and Manchester United in the EFL Cup final in recent times, with the side going on to lose all three games.

But while Tadic proved he was an important part of the team last season in the Premier League when he scored seven goals and provided 12 assists in 34 appearances, his stats are far less impressive this term as the south coast outfit have hovered around mid-table.

In 23 top flight outings he has scored three goals from 29 shots and picked up four assists.

While that may not seem like a bad record, it isn’t too dissimilar to teammate James Ward-Prowse’s own stats for this term, even though the 22-year-old has often played in a deeper position than the Serbian.

The England international has netted three goals and also provided four assists, making 32 key passes.

Now, that is a stat that Tadic does excel in, having made 42 this season – a club high.

However, Puel may feel that the 28-year-old just isn’t doing enough in his current role at the centre of an attacking midfield trio, and had club-record buy Sofiane Boufal adapted to the rigours of the Premier League quicker, he may not have even found himself in the starting XI at all.

It will be interesting to see what Puel does next, but in Tadic’s case the stats suggest that he needs to do his talking on the pitch, rather than off of it.