Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez Passion Puts Diego Costa Dead To Rights

Arsene Wenger stated that he would rather have Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez than Diego Costa and his wantaway spirit, putting the Chelsea man dead to rights.

The behaviour of Alexis Sanchez in the 4-0 win over Swansea has produced some rather vociferous debate. After being subbed off late in the game with Arsenal four goals to the good and the game all but over, Arsene Wenger saw the opportunity to provide his star Chilean with some precious rest and lessen the chances of injury.

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Moreover, in bringing Sanchez off, Wenger was able to give the recently returned Danny Welbeck some game time as he recovers from a nine-month injury lay-off, trying to regain some match sharpness. That, though, did not matter to Sanchez.

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He stropped and he sulked on the sideline, seemingly lamenting the decision that gave him less than the maximum time on the pitch. He has been criticised for his reaction, and rightly so, and Wenger had to answer some rather difficult questions regarding the team-first attitude that Sanchez lacked. In answering them, Wenger compared the minor issues that he is facing with Sanchez to the major struggles that Antonio Conte is having to deal with regarding the wantaway Diego Costa.

Wenger stated:

"“I’d rather have someone who always wants to be involved than someone who doesn’t want to play. I have enough problems — I don’t need a Costa problem on top of that. Alexis is a guy who wants to fight everywhere, sometimes where he shouldn’t. But that is a part of his game. All my players want to play for every minute but for me this is not a story.”"

It is a very fair point from Wenger. There are circling rumours surrounding the vague issues that Costa and Chelsea are having. Some reports state that he had a bust-up with a member of the backroom staff, others suggest that he feigned or over-exaggerated injury so he didn’t have to play against Leicester City at the weekend and the final, perhaps most convincing rumour is that he has seen the flashy cash on offer in China and is now seeking a rather substantial pay rise.

Whatever the case may be, ultimately, his and Sanchez’s attitude are wholly at odds with one another. Although Sanchez’s sulking is detrimental to the team spirit and can have a negative effect on the squad for the rest of the season, it is nothing in comparison to the destruction that Costa’s actions may have.

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I was indeed one who criticised Sanchez for his reaction to being subbed off. Nonetheless, give me Sanchez’s sulk over Costa’s conflict every single day of the week, even on a Saturday.