Arsenal: Manchester City Alexis Sanchez Swoop Unlikely And Yet Worrying
Manchester City are being linked with Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez as he stalls on contract negotiations. A deal is highly unlikely and worrying all the same.
There was a period of time where each and every summer, one of Arsenal star players defected to rivals Manchester City. Samir Nasri, Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor, Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy all left the Emirates in favour of the money and titles that were building in the blue half of Manchester.
However, thanks to an upturn in both finances and results, added to by the big name additions of Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Petr Cech, Arsene Wenger has been, more recently, increasingly able to reject the advances of the greener grass.
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However, as ever with Arsenal contract negotiations, talks with Sanchez, in particular, have broken down amid concerns regarding a disparity in wages and the absence of a reasonable release clause that Sanchez seems to be uncompromising on. While talks with Ozil are seemingly running far smoother, it is the Sanchez issues that are stirring up interest from that fateful Manchester club once more.
According to reports, Pep Guardiola is keen to join up with his former Barcelona star, willing to match his 200K a week wage demands that Arsenal are far more hesitant to pay. What should be said from the off is that I highly doubt the credibility of these reports at this moment in time. With two years remaining on his contract, the Gunners, in all reality, have til next summer to secure a long-term deal for their star right winger.
Sanchez makes it three one pic.twitter.com/VQoUFcNKYC
— GJON (@Gjon777) September 17, 2016
Nonetheless, these early noises are somewhat concerning, especially considering Wenger’s transfer history with City. If talks do not progress over the coming months then Sanchez will certainly begin to dream of playing for a side challenging for league titles and European trophies, not the perennial fourth place trophy that Wenger values so highly.
After his second goal against Hull City on Saturday, Sanchez was visibly supportive of the club, pulling his shirt taut so that the badge was on full display. It was show of ‘I want to be at the Emirates’, not a doubting over his career in North London due to poor initial talks in his contract negotiations.
Such a deal is hard to believe in the current climate. However, as time passes by and if contract talks continue to stall, dragging on into the new year with a downturn in results leaving Arsenal well off the title pace, then the concerns will certainly grow. An Alexis departure would be devastating for a developing squad and may even indicate at a hint of returning to the selling times of years gone by.
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