Manchester United have reportedly joined the race for Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez.

Sanchez will see his contract with Arsenal expire at the end of the 2017-18 campaign, and the Chilean has been strongly linked with a move to Premier League leaders Manchester City.

City had been expected to have a free run at the former Barcelona attacker, but according to Sky Sport Italia, United have put their name in the hat as Jose Mourinho's side look to pull off a spectacular deal.

The report claims that the 20-time English champions are prepared to include unsettled Armenian international Henrikh Mkhitaryan as part of the deal, and have already contacted the Gunners to discuss a potential move this month.

United are thought to have also bettered the wages offered to Sanchez by City as they look to get one over on the team that have dominated in the Premier League this season.

Sanchez's attitude has been called into question over the last couple of months, but the attacker has still scored eight times in 21 appearances for Arsenal this term.