Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says targetting out-of-contract players is a 'no brainer' and it will happen more and more.

Wenger said it was a "no-brainer" to bring in Sead Kolasinac for free after his contract at Schalke came to an end and believes the signing offsets the club-record fee paid for Alexandre Lacazette later in the summer.

"I think it was a good opportunity in Germany because we knew he was at the end of his contract," he said.

"Watching him, I thought he had the quality. I met him and he had a good spirit and a good attitude so basically overall it was a no-brainer for us.

"It is a nice bargain because it allows you to divide your buy by two. When you buy two players, the price of one you buy you can divide by two. One player for £50million is two for £25million.

"You might find it more and more, I have said it many times, that more and more players will go to the end of their contract because the transfer is too high, the inflation is too high and the agents will be demanding and clubs will not be in a position to extend contracts."

The Bosnia-Herzegovina international may revert to play at left wing-back on Saturday as Germany international pair Per Mertesacker and Shkodran Mustafi return to the squad.

Alexis Sanchez is still not fit enough to make his first appearance of the season with an abdominal strain keeping the Chile forward on the sidelines as speculation over his future rumbles on.