Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez future is restricting the summer evolution

Alexis Sanchez has stated that his future is in the hands of his agent. The uncertainty of his future is restricting Arsenal’s hoped-for summer evolution.

The calls for change have been heard. Whether they will be acted on is another question. But given the ferocity of the fans’ reaction to Arsenal’s dismal form in the latter half of the season, it would be impossible to ignore the cries for, if not revolution, at least evolution.

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Arsene Wenger has signed another two-year deal with the club, much to the dismay of many fans, and even some members of the board, and it seems as though wholesale change will not take place for some time, or at least while Stan Kroenke is the owner.

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I believe that Wenger is wanting to welcome a fresh and new atmosphere and approach into the club. But before he can, there are few key decisions that he must come to resolve. Perhaps the most significant of these is the future of Alexis Sanchez, an issue that is seemingly still hanging in the balance after the Chilean’s recent comments. Ahead of the Confederations’ Cup this summer, Sanchez stated that his future is in the hands of his agent:

"“I’m looking at what my agent is doing. For now, I’m focused on the Confederations Cup in Russia and trying to do well. The truth is that my agent will see to it. He knows and he will sit down with the club to look for the best option for me. I’d like a lot of things but I’m only thinking about the national team.”"

That is a very non-committal, vague statement. Sanchez is purposefully trying to reveal as little as possible. That is to be expected. It would be surprising if he just laid bare the state of the contract talks, what he is thinking and whether he would indeed like to leave. But it could also be the case that, quite simply, very little concrete information has been established.

Without a decision made regarding his future, it is difficult for Wenger to make any headway with his recruitment. Such is the importance and influence of Sanchez, his staying or his leaving will have a huge impact on what needs must be addressed through bringing in new players.

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Whether evolution will come or not, only time will tell. However, the longer that the future of Sanchez remains unresolved, the less and less likely it is that Wenger will make the sweeping changes to the squad that are needed.