Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has sparked a bidding war for Alexis Sanchez’s services by revealing the controversial Chilean could leave the club in January.

The 28-year-old angered many Arsenal fans by refusing to commit his future to the Gunners this summer – after supporters previously supported him through a number of histrionics on and off the pitch last season – as the team failed to finish in the top four for the first time in two decades.

But Wenger has now admitted the former Barcelona forward – who has fewer than 12 months remaining on his contract – could depart the club in the new year transfer window.

With previous suitors Manchester City still interested in the livewire talisman – after having a bid of around £60 million turned down by Arsenal hours before the transfer window slammed shut – the Islington Gazette understands Sanchez and his advisors are keen for a move to the Etihad as soon as possible.

Wenger – speaking at the club’s training ground London Colney after the international break – when pressed on whether Tocopilla-born Sanchez could leave once the next transfer window opens, said: “Once you are in our kind of situation we have envisaged every kind of solution, yes. Yes, it’s possible.”

One thing the player can never be accused of is not trying his best and Wenger confirmed Chile’s failure to qualify for next summer’s World Cup in Russia will not affect Sanchez when he next pulls on an Arsenal shirt.

The long-serving Frenchman added: “I have no doubt that he wants to perform.

“He never goes on the football pitch to lose a football game, never. Sanchez is a winner type. You have always to set targets when you’re a football player. When one is gone, you focus on something else.

“Sanchez is 29 at the end of the year, so the next one [World Cup] he will be 33. He expected to go. Certainly a big disappointment for him.

“But I believe to play at the top level is dealing with that kind of disappointment.

“If you want to make a big career it’s a bit of a roller-coaster, because you are sometimes on a high then three days later you’re on a low. It’s part of our job.

“Some deal better than others with it.”