Arsenal: The end result we wanted might be counter-productive

As the transfer window winds down, it seems as though Arsenal will keep hold of Alexis Sanchez. However, could the end result we all wanted actually be counter-productive?

What a crazy transfer deadline day that was. I am writing this piece as the news cycle begins to wind down with many of the possible moves reported throughout the day seemingly settled, either as a completed switch or as definitively closed. Arsenal have been at the heart of much that has happened, for better or worse, and at the end of it all, finish the day more or less where they started.

While Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain officially completed his departure, signing for Liverpool in a £40 million deal, that was a transfer that has been expected for some days, although there was a slight doubt over his eventual destination with Chelsea also sniffing around. And the other departures — Joel Campbell, Lucas Perez, Donyell Malan — were not too surprising or significant.

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The big story of the day centred on the future of Alexis Sanchez. Manchester City were pushing hard for his signature, eventually seeing a £60 million offer tentatively accepted by Arsenal, assuming that a replacement could be found. The man that Arsene Wenger had targeted was Thomas Lemar, and despite an alleged £92 million offer being accepted, Wenger later pulled out of the deal, subsequently ending any chance of a Sanchez sale.

As we enter the final few hours of the window, it now looks almost certain that Sanchez will stay at the Emirates, despite his and City’s best efforts to force through a deal. That is, ultimately, the result that most fans, myself included, wanted at the start of the summer. Sanchez was the biggest concern, a concern that has been settled in satisfactory.

Or perhaps not. As the day’s news broke, it became increasingly clear in my head that selling Sanchez for £60 million and replacing him with Lemar, even for the eye-watering £92 million fee reported, is a wise move.

Not only do you receive for a player who can leave for free in 12 months time, but you replace him with a far younger alternative who boasts the natural potential to fulfil Sanchez’s rather substantial influence, breathe a lease of life into a stagnating and rotting squad and provide an element of positivity and hope for a fan base bereft of optimism.

Moreover, Sanchez clearly does not want to be there — his lethargic, apathetic, distracted display against Liverpool was proof of this — and although he is of a character that will ignite a competitive spirit within him, having unhappy and unsettled players in a squad is rarely helpful.

Next: Arsenal: 3 winners and losers from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain exit

At the end of the shambolic mismanagement that has corrupted the Arsenal transfer window this summer, the result is one that most people wanted. But, amid the disarray and disillusion, perhaps the ending is not the one we should have hoped for.

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