Arsenal in danger of breaching Premier League wage control rules if Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil commit to new contracts... and they could be forced to sell off players as a result

Premier League short-term cost control rules prevent clubs from overspending 

Top-flight teams are allowed £7million of wage bill increases each year

Arsenal are trying to get Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil to sign new contracts

If both agree to terms on offer, their combined pay rise would be £15m annually

That could result in the Gunners having to sell players to up their revenue

Premier League rules limiting the extent to which a club's wage bill can increase year-on-year could result in Arsenal being forced to sell assets this summer.

The Gunners are trying to tie Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil to new contracts at the Emirates but, should they be successful, they could breach the short term cost control (STCC) measures which restrict teams to £7million increases in total salaries each season.

Fresh deals for Sanchez and Ozil alone would take Arsenal's wage bill well beyond those restrictions, should both agree terms on £280,000-per-week contracts.

Sanchez currently earns £130,000 per week and Ozil £140,000, meaning both could double their money by staying in north London.

In that eventuality, their total pay rise would be in the region of £15m annually.

Premier League rules allow for overspend, should clubs be able to show that it comes as a result of increased commercial or matchday revenue, or player sales.

However, Arsenal are unlikely to see a significant upturn in commercial or matchday revenue - which includes TV money, ticketing and merchandise - given Arsene Wenger's side have missed out on a place in the Champions League.

Therefore, in order to facilitate Sanchez and Ozil staying, the club may need to offload players to increase revenue from player sales.

Several members of the Arsenal squad are attracting interest from elsewhere.