Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger claimed that Alexis Sanchez was staying for the upcoming season, but Paris Saint-Germain are currently trying to agree a fee for his signature.
The French giants made an embarrassing £35 Million offer last week, which was laughed at, but are getting closer to his probable asking price with their latest bid of £44 Million.
These amounts have to be taken seriously, especially when considering the likelihood that he could leave for nothing in 12 months time, and that money could be spent on further improvements to the squad.
This wouldn’t be the first time that Wenger had ruled out the potential sale/exit of one of his key players, shortly before they left the club however, and we know how he likes to play the game when it comes to his transfer business.
Thierry Henry and Samir Nasri were both stated to be staying with the club, before being sold in that same window, and it makes sense for us to backtrack and allow the Chilean to move on now.
As much as every Arsenal fan out there must be happy with the idea of keeping Alexis for one more season, we have to look at the bigger picture, and the reality is in 12 months, not only can he leave on a free transfer, but he could join a Premier League rival like Manchester City, Man United or Chelsea.
Paris offer is not only a chance for us to retrieve money for a contract rebel who looks destined to leave the club within 12 months, but would also allow us to send him abroad, where he could only come back to haunt us in the Champions League.
Do we really want to force him to stay one more season, and then have every club in Europe battle it out to sign him? Would we kick ourselves if he joined one of the Manchester clubs in 12 months time?
Pat J