Despite the Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger constantly reiterating that neither Alexis Sanchez nor Mesut Ozil will be sold this summer, there a very conflicting reports in the media, specifically in regards to the Chilean. The latest twist in the Alexis Sanchez saga appears to be that the Gunners’ talisman will complete a move to Premier League rivals Manchester City ‘in the coming days’, according to Gerard Romero of the publication, Sport.
The news comes on the heels of reports that Bayern Munich had pulled out of the race for the forward due to his exorbitant wage demands. But with City having no such problems in terms of wages and with Champions League football also on offer at the Etihad, it is understood that the offer from the Manchester club would be too good for the 28-year-old to turn down and stay at Arsenal.
What worries me the most is the fact that the source of the news, Gerard Romero, is understood to be a friend of City boss Pep Guardiola and has an incredible track record in terms of City transfers since the former Barcelona boss took over, breaking the news about deals for Leroy Sane, Nolito, John Stones and Gabriel Jesus long before they were officially confirmed by the Sky Blues.
Moreover, Alexis is well acquainted with Guardiola from their time at Barcelona. In fact, it was the Spaniard that signed a young Alexis from Udinese for the Catalan giants, with the Chilean being a regular in the starting eleven and an integral part of Barcelona’s system at the time. Surely, this previous association will also play an important role in Sanchez’s decision.
For me, this looks like it could be a repeat of the Robin van Persie saga where we ended up strengthening a rival team. The Dutchman scored 30 goals as Manchester United marched to the title, and there can be no debate that Sanchez can do the same for City.
With Wenger claiming a few weeks ago that the club are in a much better position to hold on to players compared to the time when van Persie was sold, it remains to be seen if Le Prof can back up his words and block Sanchez from joining City, BUT you have to remember Wenger’s actual words. He said: ‘They [Sanchez and Ozil] will stay at the club and hopefully we can extend their contracts,’
‘You cannot weaken the club and weaken the team.
‘You want to strengthen the team. Unless you find a player of the same calibre.’
So if Wenger buys a replacement, like Rodriguez or Mbappe, will he then be able to announce Alexis’ departure?
AT