Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has given the green light to bidding for Arsenal attacker Alexis Sanchez in January.

The Mirror says Chelsea are willing to move for Alexis to prove their commitment to Antonio Conte.

The Chile international is inside the final year of his Gunners deal.

The onus will be on the Gunners to sell for a cut-price fee then rather than risk losing the 28-year-old Chilean for nothing as a free agent next summer.

Alvaro Morata's current absence with a hamstring injury exposes the lack of options up front for Conte, whose side were ruthlessly exposed at home by Man City last weekend.