Arsenal may have found foreign suitor they want to avoid selling Alexis Sanchez to Premier League rivals Manchester City

Reports from Italy suggest Inter Milan want him and they could be the perfect club for the Gunners to sell to

Arsenal may have been handed an opportunity to avoid selling Alexis Sanchez to Manchester City this summer, as Inter Milan are “dreaming” of signing the Chilean international.

Sanchez looks set to leave the Emirates before the start of the season with Pep Guardiola keen on reuniting himself with his former Barcelona forward at the Etihad.

The Gunners, while still holding out hope that Sanchez will sign a new deal and extend his stay at the club past the 12 months he has remaining on his current deal, are wary that their star player his eyeing the exit door and are desperate for him not to head to one of their direct Premier League rivals.

They also don’t want him to leave for free and are more open to the idea of him leaving this summer, should a foreign club come in for him.

Bayern Munich were interested, but were put off by Sanchez’s wage demands of around £300,000-a-week and Arsenal’s asking price of £50m.

However, according to Italian daily Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter, backed by Chinese retail billionaire owners Suning, are ready to move for the 28-year-old.

They report the Serie A side are “dreaming” of making the 28-year-old their “poster boy” for the new era at the San Siro as they try and keep up with the spending of fierce rivals AC Milan.

Inter can afford the £300,000-a-week wage demands of Sanchez, who is already accustomed to life in Serie A after plying his trade for Udinese prior to his Barcelona move.

Such is Arsenal’s desire to avoid selling to a direct rival, they could accept a bid from Inter at a fraction of what they are demanding from Manchester City.

Chelsea could also revive their interest in Sanchez after Manchester United gazumped them in the race for Romelu Lukaku’s signature.

Other than Sanchez, United have already proven that Chelsea’s two other striking targets, Andrea Belotti and Alvaro Morata, would cost substantially more than the Arsenal man.

The Gunners have already signed Alexandre Lacazette for a club-record fee and are moving for other attacking players to brace themselves for Sanchez’s departure, should it be this summer or on a free next summer.