We all know that the English football press loves an Arsenal transfer rumour and it seems to me that they would much prefer one that puts pressure on Arsene Wenger or one that winds up the Arsenal fans, so if they can fin one that does both it is like gold to them.
So it is hardly a surprise that all and sundry have leaped on the comments of the Arsenal and Chile international star Alexis Sanchez this week, interpreting his comments to mean that he wants to sign for Chelsea, even though our striker said nothing about Antonio Conte or his team and nothing about leaving the Gunners.
One thing he did say was that he would like to stay in London but his words in Spanish reported by the Chilean website El Grafico are a little confusing because he uses the term ‘un equipo’ which means ‘a team’ or ‘one team’ so the football media are taking it that Alexis means that he wants to play for a team that will be winners and that has a winning mentality, so they take that along with the reports that Conte wants to sign him and hey presto!
However, in the original Spanish when Sanchez says he is happy in London wand wants to stay there he also uses the term ‘una ciudad’ which means ‘one city’ or ‘a city’ and that does not really make sense. So I believe that his phrase ‘una ciudad y un equipo’ means the city and the team, which tells me that his words are not for the Chelsea boss at all but for Arsene Wenger.
Perhaps the clue is in the title of the original article which starts, ‘Alexis manda un mensaje al Arsenal’ or ‘ Alexis sends a message to Arsenal’. He wants to stay in London with Arsenal but he wants the Gunners to be a team that has a winning mentality and will challenge for the major trophies. In fact that message may be more to the Arsenal board than to our current manager, don’t you think?
Bob.