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Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez Must Be Made To Be Disappointed
Alexis Sanchez has Chelsea atop his destination wishlist. Arsenal and Arsene Wenger must make him disappointed if they are forced to sell the Chilean.
The recent underwhelming performances of Alexis Sanchez perhaps hint at a worrying summer for Arsenal and the hopefuls who want the Chilean to stay in North London. He looks increasingly apathetic to the results of the team, has lost his relentless drive, no longer presses with great intensity, and is creating and scoring less and less.
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Reading the tea leaves a little, it is likely that, by the time September rolls around, Sanchez will be plying his trade elsewhere. With just a year remaining on his contract, if Arsene Wenger does not choose to sell him this summer, then he can leave on a free the following the year, and Arsenal recoup none of the £35 million invested in his services.
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And while the aim of the club should still be to try and re-sign him to a new deal beyond 2018, that is looking like an increasingly impossible task. After all, you can only complete a deal if both parties are willing to agree to it. As such, it may be perhaps wiser to shift the perspective to maximising the value of the player when an eventual sale is made.
The other question that must be tackled is regarding the destination. And when asked about that, Wenger was adamant that, if it came to an exit, he would not consider selling the Chilean to another Premier League club:
"“If he doesn’t sign a new deal, will I make him stay? Yes. Would I rather keep him than sell him to a Premier League rival? Yes. I don’t think you would sell him to any Premier League club, that is for sure. Why not? The question is more why would you sell him to another Premier League club? You want to be as strong as you can be and not strengthen the other teams.”"
That is a sensible and astute stance to take, even if it disappoints Sanchez. In the same report, it is stated that Sanchez sees Chelsea as his ideal landing spot due to being settled in the city of London, the guarantee of Champions League football and the chance to compete for the biggest domestic club trophies under Antonio Conte, something that Arsenal cannot currently offer him.
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If Sanchez is to depart, as is expected by most, then it is important that Wenger is defiant in where he chooses to send him, no matter the protests. Selling him to a Premier League rival is a criminal mistake, one that cannot be afforded to be made.