Arsenal urged to bow to Alexis Sanchez's demands and do whatever it takes to keep Chile talisman

Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour has called on his former club to pay Alexis Sanchez what he wants and believes the Gunners need to keep their best players in order to compete with Chelsea and Manchester United.

Sanchez, 28, has one year left on his current deal at The Emirates Stadium and is attracting interest from the likes of Manchester City and Bayern Munich.

The Chilean international is currently focusing on the upcoming Confederations Cup and is leaving negotiations in the hands of his agent, but Parlour is eager to see Arsenal pull out all the stops and tie Sanchez down to a new contract, even if it means paying him up to £300,000-a-week.

"The club have got to make it an issue now and give the players the wages they want," Parlour told talkSPORT. "They have got to step up now. I would say to Sanchez, 'how much do you want?'

"If his agent says, 'we want £300,000-a-week' you have to pay it I'm afraid. They have come fifth in the league this year, which we know is not good enough for Arsenal's standards. They won a trophy in the FA Cup.

"The manager has been sorted out, that is on the backburner, now the [future of the] players is the most important. If you want to compete with the likes of [Manchester] City, Chelsea, [Manchester] United, whoever it is going to be next year, then you have got to keep your best players."

Sanchez has established himself as one of the stars of the Premier League since joining Arsenal in the summer of 2014 and was unfortunate not to be named in the PFA Team of the Year last season.

The former Barcelona star is aware that he has a big decision to make this summer but has left matters to his agent for the time being, with his immediate focus firmly on winning an international trophy with Chile for the third consecutive summer.

"I'm looking at what my agent is doing," Sanchez said. "For now, I'm focused on the Confederations Cup in Russia and trying to do well.

"The truth is that my agent will see to it. He knows and he will sit down with the club to look for the best option for me. I'd like a lot of things but I'm only thinking about the national team."