Whether or not you believe Arsene Wenger when he suggests that the Chilean international star Alexis Sanchez has not made it clear about whether he wants to stay at Arsenal or get a transfer away from north London this summer, and I for one think that the boss is not being entirely honest there, it does seem clear that Wenger and the club’s position is clear.
As reported by the Evening Standard this week, our manager was unequivocal with his reply when asked by the press while on tour in China about the striker.
He said, “The decision has been made and we will stick to that. The decision is not to sell.”
This is a lot more definitive than the usual, ‘we want him to stay’ or ‘I am confident he will still be an Arsenal player’ so I am going to stick my neck out and assume that he means it. In which case it should be good news for the Gunners in the coming months as we attempt to challenge for the Premier League title.
The only drawback could be if Sanchez does not perform as we know that he can because he is unhappy about not being sold. Another reason he may be a bit miffed is that the new striker signing Alexandre Lacazette looks likely to push the Chilean back out into a wide area after he did so well in the centre last season, which Wenger made clear in comments reported by Metro.
He said, ‘Alexis plays where he plays always, on the left, sometimes on the right but normally on the left.’
I get the feeling that there could be some tension between player and manager, at least in the early stages, but I also think that Sanchez will buckle down and his desire to win will shine through, especially if the Gunners look like we might be on course for a strong campaign.
What do you think Gooners?
Bob.
alexis is aprofessional honest and commited to the club so what wory he wll stay and give the maximum as usual
Or dock him a couple of weeks wages= £260 – £390k ought to get him motivated again! I know it would get me properly motivated!
I beleive Sanchez will be sold but just before the end of the transfer window. Thant’s the only way to squeeze money from the sale of a super star on his last 12 months of his contract. By then there would still be teams which are desperate to strengthen. I think PSG will be his destination.
No I agree with Bob, I’d go out on a limb too and say that he means it this time. Wenger wants a title, and he knows Alexis is one of those players title chasing teams crave. We need him, and Lemar would not cut it next season compared to Alexis. We need to add quality to our team, not from. Wenger knows this.
Why squeeze money out of his transfer in the first place? Priority must always be to avoid him going to a PL rival. If PSG bid stupid money, we can certainly consider it. But financially it is suicide. The difference between 1st and 5th in the EPL is £14m. Champs League group stage money alone is £24m and can rise to £30m just up to the first knock out stage. Keeping Sanchez is potentially worth £44m upwards to Arsenal in 12 months so why sell him for £50m now? Why take a point in cash upfront instead of keeping our eyes on the prize? Why is so much focus on how much cash we can miss out on in a years time, instead of how much we could make with him in the team? We are the Arsenal and our place is winning titles.
If Lemar comes, I see Alexis going. I hope Neymar does not move, makes PSG still needing a star and Alexis will fit the bill.
If they strengthen properly there is no reason they can’t. Sanchez is a fierce competitor who has said in the past that he taught this squad was talented enough yet we literally got swept out of the champions league and couldn’t sustain the rythm in the EPL. We dropped important points against Man City, Everton, Liverpool, Watford, Palace and he was part of those team (not to say he is fully responsible).
If we keep making deals for top targets like the rumoured Lemar and bring in an all around talent in midfield in Goretzka for example what do you think Sanchez might think? Even more so if Wenger becomes ruthless with the outgoings: Gibbs, Jenkinson, Debuchy, maybe Wilshere and even either of Walcott (my choice)/Giroud? With the salary he is asking only a few teams can offer him that and Arsenal is one of them.
At the end if he sees that Ox is renewed and maybe Ozil before the season starts than we make a genuine push in the EPL and who knows we don’t win it but we do the Europa for which anything but making into semis would be failure in my opinion and there is no reason why we shouldn’t get the best of him.
Again this is based on a perfect summer.
alexis , see ball , chase ,as reliable as my lurcher.
he does not know different.
kicking a ball on the beach with the kids would be no different. i have no worries that he would be sulking if he stays
P Cech telling teammates not to celebrate a P-S trophy was epic. Some of the younger ones didn’t get it, but also Coquelin thought he was joking. Loved the way he done it for all the world to see, if it was someone else I would say that’s for the cameras, but I think Cech was trying to make a point. Lets hope some of them realize our ambitions, Arsenals true ambition.
Don’t forget that Cech has won PL & CL trophies in his time at Chelsea and there was no way that he was going to let some of his old buddies take the mick out of him for lifting and celebrating some Mickey Mouse cup ?? it’s safe to say that if Cech wasn’t wearing the captains armband due to illnesses, he probably wouldn’t have said Jack???
Frankly I’m not too sure if we can expect the best from Sanchez if he truly wants to go and Arsenal refuse to sell him…we saw a few inklings of this late last season where you could just tell that his heart wasn’t in it; he has a horrible poker face and for someone like Alexis who, when motivated, leaves it all on the pitch, I think it will be incredibly difficult to get the best out of him under those circumstances, especially if or when we go through a tough patch of games…in a way Sanchez could be subjected to the same sort of treatment Wenger received last season whenever the going gets tough, which is exactly why this negative PR campaign club insiders have adopted since the time of the Liverpool game, when Wenger didn’t start Sanchez, is a very dangerous game to play…the old unwritten rules about keeping things in-house is no longer realistic considering the way the media covers the sport now…former players and pundits alike battle to one-up each other to satisfy the seemingly insatiable needs of the public and their bosses, combined with the ever-growing number of players that utilize social media to market themselves irregardless of the consequences, has forever changed the locker room dynamic…unfortunately Sanchez and his agent have willingly engaged in this process, in large part because Wenger didn’t lock him up prior to last season and then the team failed to qualify for Europe, and when this happens things are said that can’t be unsaid, which has a tendency to escalate things unnecessarily…this certainly isn’t a slag directed at Sanchez, as I think many top-level players experience this at some point in their careers, especially with player movement being far more fluid nowadays and the money involved so astronomical…but for those who have watched Sanchez for many years now, at Barcelona, in the Chilean National squad and now for the Gunners, the thing that makes him so special is his incredible desire to win and you can see that in his face and in his actions whenever he’s fully engaged on the pitch…he might not be the most talented guy out there each and every game but when he’s right mentally, which from a percentage standpoint is far more often than vast majority of players I’ve ever watched, he represents a clear and present danger to any team he’s facing…take that away, like our team did because it can’t exist in a world where the standards are so high, and you just might have an unwanted pig with lipstick situation that I don’t know if I could fathom to watch
Phew…at last,im finished reading ur comment..thanks god
I don’t bother, no paragraphs make it too much like hard work.
believe it or not Sanchez is staying it’s not my money if he goes for free next season or not. We’ve sold so Many in the past and the money wasn’t invested in quality. So to those of you crying more than the bereaved “is it your money?” and to my fellas saying he’ll disrupt the team with his tantrums, we’ll boo him right there on the field and on social media if he tries that sh**t and I trust Wenger to manage the rest. We are arsenal we are the greatest in London even Henry left and we remain we’ll be back at the apex if not with Wenger it will be with a better manager! C. O. Y. G
If he wants to go, put it in a written transfer request, but I bet he won’t as he’ll lose out on his bonuses, the greedy little sh1t.