Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez hardball the only option

Arsenal rejected a £50 million offer for Alexis Sanchez from Manchester City on Tuesday night. Thanks to Arsene Wenger’s incompetence, their playing hardball is the only option.

Manchester City have been chasing Alexis Sanchez hard. Throughout the summer, there have been reports suggesting that Pep Guardiola is wanting to work once more with the Chilean who he managed at Barcelona. However, no bids were ever made, and, with Arsenal’s increasing resistance to sell, it was perhaps thought that he would indeed stay, entering the final year on his contract.

However, on Tuesday night, it was revealed that City submitted a £50 million offer in the aftermath that discussions were being had regarding a potential swap deal with Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero both mentioned.

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Arsenal, though, rejected the offer rather emphatically, and are allegedly insistent that they receive a player in return. The reason that they are demanding that Sanchez only leaves as a part of some form of trade is that they are forced to as a result of their incompetence throughout the summer thus far. If Sanchez were to depart, a replacement would be a necessity. How can you be expected to find a replacement in little more than 24 hours?

It is the hesitance and complacency of Arsene Wenger that has dug this rather substantial hole. Even though he has consistently stated that sales are needed, that the squad is ‘heavy’ and that he wants to hone the options available to him, Wenger has failed to complete his anticipated business early. Kieran Gibbs, Mathieu Debuchy, Carl Jenkinson. All are still at the club as of writing.

The delaying of business — this is perhaps the biggest indictment of Wenger and the club, given that this has been an issue that has crippled the progression of the squad time and time again, and yet, those lessons have not been learned — has forced Arsenal’s hand into a state of hard ball.

Quite simply, they cannot afford to let Sanchez go because they would be unable to replace him given the nearing transfer deadline. City are attempting to prize the Gunners’ best and most dangerous attacker away from them while leaving them with no option to fill the hole that he would vacate.

But that is not City’s problem. It is not City’s fault that the North London outfit have backed themselves into a corner where they are now unable to work the transfer market with aggression and intention. It is Wenger’s fault.

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I do expect Sanchez to leave between now and the end of the transfer window. But the key question for the Gunners will be whether they will be able to find another to replace him. Given the lack of time at hand, that will be difficult and leaves hard ball as the only option to play.

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