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Arsene Wenger: This is why I'm worried about the Chinese Super League after Chelsea deals
ARSENE WENGER admits he fears the astronomical wages being offered by Chinese Super League clubs could become the benchmark for the top European leagues.
By
David Wright
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Arsene Wenger fears financial pull of Chinese Super League
Chelsea striker Diego Costa was subject of a £30million-a-year offer from Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian last week.
Two of his former team-mates at Stamford Bridge, Oscar and John Obi Mikel, have already moved to China, while Carlos Tevez became the highest-earning player in the world when he joined Shanghai Shenhua last month.
Familiar faces in the Chinese Super League
Tue, January 3, 2017
Express Sport takes a look at some of the more recognisable faces now playing in the Chinese Super League
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The Chinese Super League has attracted a host of former Premier League talent, as well as a few other familiar faces, but how many do you recognise?
And Wenger fears the ever-increasing wages currently on offer in Europe could soon end up trailing behind the money in China.
The Gunners are currently locked in contract talks with Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, with the pair reportedly looking to match the best-paid players in the Premier League.
When asked if the financial pull of Chinese clubs could complicate Arsenal's negotiations with top players, Wenger said: "That's the danger, that the Chinese offers become the benchmark for Europe.
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Diego Costa received a £30m-a-year offer from China
"You cannot compete with that but I still think that, when you're a footballer, the first thing is that you want to play against the best players in the best teams.
"Of course it's a worry but it happened in Europe before. It also happens when you're at a smaller club.
"Sometimes we had periods where we could not financially compete with the bigger clubs who took our players away from us. It can happen inside the country."
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