Arsene Wenger has stated that he benched Alexis Sanchez because he wanted a direct approach from his side.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said that he did not regret his decision to bench talisman Alexis Sanchez despite the Gunners ending up 3-1 losers to a resurgent Liverpool side at Anfield on Saturday.
Liverpool started the game as favourites and lived up to their tag as they dominated the contest from the opening whistle. Brazilian attacker Roberto Firmino opened the scoring for the Reds before Sadio Mane added another to give the hosts a two-goal cushion.
Danny Welbeck, who started ahead of Alexis Sanchez, scored the Gunners’ only goal of the game that gave them a bit of an initiative to push for a second. However, all hopes of a comeback were dashed when Georginio Wijnaldum put the game to bed with a goal in the dying stages of the game.
Many Arsenal fans blamed Sanchez’s absence as the reason why Gunners lost the game, but Wenger stood by his decision to drop the Chilean. According to the BBC, he said, “Everyone will come to the same conclusion. But I am strong enough and lucid enough to analyse the impact. I wanted to play two players who were strong in the air and then bring Sanchez on in the second half.”
“I don’t deny Alexis Sanchez is a great player. A decision like that is not easy to make, you have to stand up for it.”
Sanchez’s future at Arsenal has never been in more jeopardy before and it seems like he may actually walk out of the door at Emirates at the end of the season. His contract expires at the end of next season, but he is grown to become a disgruntled figure at the club, and Wenger may be fighting a losing battle to keep him.
While the Frenchman has given the excuse of a different tactical approach, David Hytner of the Guardian has stated that the Chilean was dropped because he walked out of training last week and was also involved in a dressing room bust up with a few Arsenal players.
This negativity could have a serious impact on the team, and may be in the best interest of the harmony of the entire squad to allow Sanchez to leave, or somehow convince him to fall in line and sign a new deal.
