Wenger reveals Alexis and Ozil contract plans

The Arsenal stars both see their deals at the Emirates Stadium expire in 2018, which is why their coach is not in a huge rush to hand them extended offers yet

Arsene Wenger has revealed that Arsenal are yet to open contract negotiations with star players Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil but that they will begin in earnest in 2016.

Ozil has been the Gunners' standout performer in 2015-16 following a slow start to his career at the Emirates Stadium, where he has resided since his club record move from Real Madrid in the summer of 2013.

Former Barcelona forward Alexis, on the other hand, was an immediate star for Arsenal as he scored 25 goals en route to FA Cup success and a third-place finish in the Premier League last season.

Alexis is believed to be keen to tie himself down to a new and improved deal that would make him the best paid player at the north London club.

Wenger is in no rush to open negotiations with the Chilean attacker or Ozil, though, and he says such talks are likely to start in the latter half of the current campaign ahead of the summer transfer window.

Cristiano Ronaldo: I want to retire with 'dignity', not in USA, Qatar or Dubai

Cristiano Ronaldo said Friday that he wants to end his career “with dignity” and not playing in “the United States, Qatar or Dubai”. The Real Madrid and Portugal star, the subject of a new documentary that premiered on Monday in London, said Thursday in an interview on ITV’s The Jonathan Ross Show that he expected to play six or seven more seasons and hoped to finish his career at the highest level. The remarks ostensibly referenced the recent wave of top players who have finished their careers outside of Europe’s top leagues, among them MLS imports Didier Drogba, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo and David Villa, along with Xavi, the lifelong Barcelona midfielder who signed with Qatari club Al Sadd in May. “That does not mean it’s bad play in the leagues of the United States, Qatar or Dubai, but I do not see myself there,” Ronaldo said. Ronaldo, who turns 31 in February, became Real Madrid’s all-time leading goalscorer last month and has th...

Young people to lose access to unemployment benefits as part of welfare reforms

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Janitor earning $327,000 a year caught ‘slacking off’

THIS janitor clocked so much overtime that he took home $327,000 in a single year — but was allegedly caught out hiding in a closet for hours. Liang Zhao Zhang earned a base salary of $75,874 ($US57,945) in 2015 for cleaning San Francisco’s Powell Street station. But once overtime was taken into account, his salary and benefits added up to a whopping $327,000 ($US250,000)— giving his earnings a boost of $212,190 — revealed in public records released by Transparent California. An investigation by local broadcaster KTVU found that Mr Zhang was paid for working 17 hours a day for 18 days in a row in July 2015, and clocked fulltime hours during his annual leave. This superhuman feat prompted the station’s 2 Investigates program to take a closer look at just what Mr Zhang was up to during these marathon-length work days. What they say they found raised “serious questions” about the municipal transport authority’s oversight of its employee timesheets. Investigative reporters examine...

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