Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal stars Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil will be retained by the club in the upcoming summer transfer window, despite reported links to other clubs.
The futures of Ozil and Sanchez is now the big question mark facing the Gunners after Wenger signed a two-year contract on Wednesday.
Wenger has said in the past he is confident both players want to stay at the club, and has ruled out selling either -- saying he would rather keep them for the final year of their current contracts and risk them leaving on a free transfer next season.
And the longtime manager reiterated his stance again on Friday, telling beIN Sports: "This summer, first of all they will stay at the club and hopefully we can extend their contract."
Sanchez finished the season with 30 goals and 15 assists and helped the team win the FA Cup final by scoring the opening goal against Chelsea. Ozil had a more inconsistent campaign but still finished with 12 goals and 13 assists.
When asked if either would leave, Wenger added: "I believe, at the moment, we're not on that front. We're focused on keeping the team together and to see how we can strengthen the team.
"When you sign a contract somewhere, you commit to give your best until the end of the last day of that contract. I would say 'why should they not give their best?'.
"The interest of any player is always to play football and well, even more so at the end of your contact. If you're a winner, you want to win the game you're playing."
Mattias Karen contributed to this report.