Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has taken a jibe at Chelsea’s current situation regarding Diego Costa.
The Gunners boss was asked about Alexis Sanchez’s attitude to being substituted during the weekend’s 4-0 win over Swansea, where he did his signature sulking to the decision to remove him from the pitch.
Alexis is known to want to play every second of every match, but was a late substitute by Wenger in minute 79 in order to give Danny Welbeck some game time.
On the subject, Wenger chose to differentiate his problems with the Chilean with that of Chelsea’s Costa, sniping at the supposed speculation.
He said: “I’d rather have someone who always wants to be involved than someone who doesn’t want to play.
“I have enough problems —I don’t need a Costa problem on top of that.
“Alexis is a guy who wants to fight everywhere, sometimes where he shouldn’t. But that is a part of his game. All my players want to play for every minute but for me this is not a story.”
The rumours around the Spain international are that he has been offered a huge £30 Million per-year contract to make the switch to China, which has prompted Costa’s head to be turned.
The drama then continued as Chelsea coach Antonio Conte and his star-striker had a difference of opinion in training, which supposedly ended with the Italian telling Costa to ‘go to China’.
The Alexis situation’s only link is in the shape of contract demands, with both players said to be demanding pay-rises, although the Chelsea man has two and a half years on his current deal.
Should we fear a Chinese offer to derail our South-American star?
Pat J