Arsene Wenger says Arsenal board back his decision not to sell Alexis Sanchez

Arsene Wenger has said he has the Arsenal board's backing not to sell Alexis Sanchez this summer despite the Chile international only having one year left on his contract.

Sanchez returned to training at Arsenal last week and looks set to stay at the Emirates Stadium, although it is unclear if he will sign a new contract.

Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus have all been linked with a move for the forward, who said last month that he had made his wishes to play in the Champions League clear to Arsenal.

The Gunners will compete in the Europa League in the 2017/18 season after their fifth-place finish in the Premier League last campaign.

Wenger said Sanchez would honour the final year of his Arsenal contract even if it meant the Gunners would lose him on a free transfer next summer.

"The board supports me to make the decisions on a technical front," the Frenchman was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.

"I can tell you that he is focused, and my decision is clear: he will stay and he will respect that. It is as simple as that.

"Every negotiation has to be a little bit secret. The transparency of society is very pushy but we have to resist a little bit, as much as we can. I think he will be here this season, and if we can do it for more seasons we will do it as well."

Wenger added that he was yet to make a decision on whether to include Jack Wilshere in his Arsenal squad for the season or to let the England international depart on loan elsewhere.

Wilshere, 25, returned to training at Arsenal last week after recovering from a broken fibula that forced him to miss the final months of last season.

"I wanted first him to come back, he is coming out of a fracture. It is the first week he is back in full training and we have to sit down together and see where we go from there," Wenger said.