Arsene manager Arsene Wenger has claimed that Alexis Sanchez is burdened with disappointment after his Chile side failed to earn qualification to next summer’s World Cup competition.
La Roja were sat in third place going into the final group stage match in qualifying, and their worst nightmare came true on the night.
Chile needed a single point to at least secure a place in the play-off places, while the only way they could fail to make the top five would be for them to lose, Argentina to win, and for Colombia and Peru to settle for a draw against each other, and excruciatingly all those circumstances came true.
To make matters worse, the goal which say Peru equalise and earn themselves a spot in the top five was from an indirect free-kick, which only stood because goalkeeper and Arsenal team-mate David Ospina made contact with the ball before entering the net. Ouch indeed…
Wenger has now revealed just how disappointed his forward is, stating that the former Barcelona man carries the weight of the pressure when leading his country.
‘Sanchez is 29 at the end of the year, so the next one he will be 33. He expected to go. Certainly [it is] a big disappointment for him.’
‘I would say you have in every generation a player who carries the pressure of expectation of a nation,’ Wenger said.
‘In France it was [Zinedine] Zidane. In England it was Beckham. We had other players in the team but it was Beckham. Why not [Steven] Gerrard? I don’t know. But it was Beckham.
‘In Chile it’s Sanchez. In Argentina of course it’s [Lionel] Messi. It looks like that there is somebody there in a national team who has to carry the pressure and absorb it and protect a little the rest of the team.’
Wenger continued: ‘It’s someone normally who likes it a little bit. They like to be on the front line. Overall what does it mean? It means they have to deal with the lows as well. ‘Remember 1998 when Beckham has been sent off after [kicking] Diego Simeone, he has been slaughtered here, he’s not been picked for the first two qualifiers after for the European qualifiers. ‘He has been treated in this country like a guy who has killed somebody. These players have to take both the positives and the negatives as well.’
Will Sanchez be mentally ready to take on Watford this weekend?
Pat J
I think Sanchez would be pumped up to prove that he is still a top player, by helping Arsenal to win. He also wants to show the other clubs that he is still in top form.
France had Henry, Vieira, etc, not just Zidane. England had Gerrard, Lampard, Owen, etc, not just Beckham.
But Argentinians would have blamed Messi if the national team did not go to World Cup and I guess it’s the same with Chile and Sanchez. So Sanchez has to prove to the Chileans that he still has not in decline yet.
Go Alexis, prove how great you are by slaughtering the mighty Watford!
I’m sure he does. He loves Chile
I haven’t decided who Chile’s best player is Alexis or Vidal? But both are World Class. Both are the reason Chile are up there with Brazil and Argentina and won the Copa America Trophy in 2015. Chile has more WC players than all of the British teams combined lol.
Wish Wenger had gone for Vidal a few years ago. He is exactly what we need in Central midfield. Amazing talent
…It’s Alexis who’s carrying Arsenal too