Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez hell could soon be heaven

I used to think that selling Alexis Sanchez would be hell for Arsenal. Now, it could well be their heaven, such have his recent struggles been.

The dominating narrative for Arsenal’s season has centred on the futures of three men: Arsene Wenger, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez. While reports suggest that the foremost will stay with the club, even if he is yet to admit it to the public in fear of the vicious backlash, the dazzling duo that have starred in recent years face summers in which they will invariably have to endure being the heart of the transfer storms.

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But if you had asked most Arsenal fans a year ago whether they would have been happy to see either of them leave, none would have said yes. Not one. Now, though, you may well find a far wider range of answers.

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Sky Sports’ pundit, when speaking to radio station TalkSport, former Gooner Charlie Nicholas stated that he would sell Sanchez given the disinterest that has seeped into his recent performances, his anonymous displays in the big games and the character concerns in regards to how he works as a part of a team:

"“These people [at Arsenal now] don’t even get close to winning the title. You are talking about jumping from £120,000-a-week to £200,000-a-week for Sanchez. Sell him. He has not been interested in the game for the last eight weeks. He is camouflaging it. I would sell him. Get him out. If he wants to go to Chelsea and Chelsea want to pay £60million, I would sell him to Chelsea.”"

That is certainly a strong statement from Nicholas, and not one that I wholeheartedly agree with. While I accept that selling Sanchez may well be the wisest decision to make this summer, allowing him to join any domestic rival, no less a rival that has been as dominant as Chelsea have been this season, is not a suggestion that I can support.

However, the overarching point remains true: that an Alexis Sanchez exit is not nearly the horror that it was thought to be even three months ago. Even if Arsenal were to keep him beyond the summer, they would likely lose him at the expiration of his contract in 2018, receiving nothing in return.

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Very quickly, selling Sanchez is becoming a more and more sensible and astute suggestion. Halfway through the season, that would have been hell. Now, it could well be closer to heaven.