Alexis Sanchez-Thomas Muller swap deal between Arsenal and Bayern Munich?

Alexis Sanchez and his future at Arsenal, no matter what Arsene Wenger says, is going to be a topic of conversation until the summer transfer window shuts, before it all starts up again a couple of months before the January transfer window opens.

And that can never be a good thing as far as focusing on what is an extremely important season for Arsenal is concerned. You don't want all the talk going on in the background, when you are trying to move on from the worst season under Wenger.

So, maybe selling Sanchez, as long as it isn't to a rival club in the English Premier League, isn't the worst of ideas.

Sanchez clearly wants Champions League football next season, and the two clubs outside the Premier League linked to the Chilean have been PSG and Bayern Munich.

Now, PSG look to be more interested in completing a world record deal for Barcelona star Neymar, while Bayern Munich have already said they aren't interested in Sanchez anymore owing to the player's wage demands and the fact that they managed to snaffle James Rodriguez from Real Madrid on a two-year loan deal.

That has left Sanchez with the option of going to Manchester City – if reports are to be believed his preferred option – but then Arsenal sanctioning a move to a rival seems extremely unlikely, even if you can never count out the Gunners choosing money over ambition.

Trying and making a deal work with Bayern or PSG should be the plan for Arsenal and that is where Thomas Muller comes in.

A report in Sport Bild on Wednesday suggested three Premier League clubs, along with Juventus, have expressed an interest in signing Muller, who endured one of his worst seasons in a Bayern shirt last time around.

One of those three Premier League clubs mentioned are Arsenal – the other two being Chelsea and Liverpool – and this is where a bit of the negotiation skills might come in handy.

Offer Sanchez for Muller, whose price-tag, if the reports are to be believed, has been put at £57 million, and see if Bayern bite. If not, no harm no foul, keep Sanchez, who has been rated at £50 million, until the end of his contract, and if a new deal cannot be negotiated, bite the bullet and let the former Barcelona man leave for free.

What Arsenal cannot do, at any cost, is sell Sanchez to a Premier League rival, no matter how big the player's desire might be to manufacture a transfer.

Liverpool are thought to be the leading candidates to sign Muller, but Arsenal can use Sanchez in any possible transfer. And they are also helped by the fact that the two clubs are in the same country at the moment, having just played an International Champions Cup match in Shanghai on Wednesday.

However, it could all be a moot point, because Bayern have insisted Muller is not for sale, despite the forward not exactly being used as much as previous managers by Carlo Ancelotti.

"Both the club and Thomas agree on the assessment of last season – it wasn't a good one," Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told Sport Bild. "But Thomas is still not for sale because he's a perfect fit for Bayern. This is not a matter of discussion.

"Thomas knows that he has to deliver a bit more, but this isn't a problem."