Arsene Wenger has played down the way Alexis Sanchez reacted to being substituted during the 4-0 win over Swansea City.
The Chilean was taken off five minutes after scoring the Gunners fourth goal and promptly took to the bench dejected where he subsequently covered his head with a coat.
As any Arsenal fan will know, it’s not exactly a surprising reaction from a guy who plays with his heart on his sleeve. Wenger said as much, also drawing attention to cultural differences.
“Looking at the game tonight, that is really minor, minor, minor,” the boss said in his post-game press conference.
“Honestly I didn’t even look. I look at the players coming on. Danny Welbeck has not played for two years, that for me is much more important than an individual response.
“You have a player, 25 years of age, a regular in the national team and you have an opportunity to bring him on – that is something that is vital.”
“All players are frustrated when they come off – some show it, some don’t.
“I just made the decision I feel is right. He’s a good guy, he wants to do well for the team. There is no problem.
“Some south Americans are different to Europeans. You have to respect that.”
Alexis just frustrated he couldn’t get more goals against a hopeless Swansea side so that he could get the golden boot.
Just sign da ting Sanchez and we will all forget about this.
Agreed. It’s a team game, get over yourself mate. If you’re that important then get a new contract sorted. Otherwise, we need others to get minutes on the field. Love the way he plays but the whole Mr Angry thing is wearing thin for me. Win us the league, then you can have the attitude.
I realise he could sign and still go.
Costa signed till 2020.
Who?
Both Costa and his manager have always been mercenaries who are more interested in money than football, whereas Alexis is all about Football. It’s his manager that pushes for the money but IMO Alexis won’t go to China until he’s too old for top level football here.
Sanchez behaviour was a disgrace. Hate to say it but he will go imo.
Another Tevez ?
Manager or Agent?
Who isn’t upset when he gets subbed?
Yeah to be fair i mind these gesticulations a lot less than the on pitch ‘im the only one trying’ and ‘you all are shit’ ones.
Ozil
Good decision by Wenger to protect our top assets and give Welbeck/Lucas some time to work in.
Yeah, probably Alexis was just frustrated. He loves playing every minute.
Its a positive that he loves to win and gives it his all.
Good response from
Wenger. Who cares about Sanchez’s reaction when Welbeck is back? 🙂
Let’s hope good guy doesn’t become ugly especially as Costa has apparently occupied bad guy.
The ‘ugly’ spot belongs to Costa forever!
Clever…but who was actually who…..in DatFilm??? ?
Apart of being absolutely magnificent on the pitch, these kind of reactions when he’s subbed (no matter the result) is what you have to love about alexis ❤
Exactly. He is a competitor, a winner. He just wants to play. I dont think there is anymore to it then its his personality to be dissappointed whem he cant play. I love the fact he gets frustrated when he is subbed… he has hunger and that is a quality many on here have wanted in an arsenal player for a long time.
I said same thing as you but this is getting too much now.
When you look at all the reasons why it was absolutely right for AW to make the swap, there is no excuse for Alexis’ reaction. Unless he only cares about his stats. No one can make an excuse that it was better for the team to leave him on at that point. IMO, he seems genuinely bugged that Giroud has been bailing us out lately.
Alexis doesn’t spend his summer holidays running up and down mountains in Chile to get subbed off in the 75th minute. Elite mentality.
Id agree if he didn’t look noticeably knackered in some recent games. Relatively of course, for superhumans.
What summer holidays? He’s played in a major tournament every summer for the last three or four years, and has the Confederations Cup this summer and the World Cup again next summer.
Damn confeds cup rules him out of what would of undoubtedly been his finest hour…. playing a game in Sydney whilst I watch from the nosebleed seats with my kids!
If he got a kick and ended up missing any time on the pitch when he IS needed they’d be much more outcry about him playing on. You can’t bemoan players not being rested and still want alexis playing every second because that’s what makes him happy.
the body language might mean his departure is looming. especially if we don’t win a trophy. i think it’s becoming a little irritating.
Why do so many pundits and football fans consider themselves to be experts in body language?
I have to agree I’m afraid. Of course we all love Sanchez and know how important he is to our success this season, but part of being a professional is not acting like a primadonna all the time. He needs to remember he’s part of a team and not The Alexis Show.
Don’t make yourself look silly questioning the “professionalism” of our best player. He has contributed more to us an individual than any other attacker in Europe has, but because he doesn’t enjoy coming off he’s “a primadonna all the time”. Really?
Wenger was very smart to point to cultural differences. Don’t over-react to Alexis’ reaction.
What?
More than Ronaldo or Messi?
Give me a break!
I love Alexis.But as a professional he should understand why he was subbed.
Also..He deserves 250k/week surely.
Did ozil decide to grace us with his presence today? Didn’t see him at all.
Go to specsavers.
-truth is,indeed, in the eyes of the beholder…..
He scored a goal, chased every ball for 75 mins and is desperate to be allowed to keep chasing for the Arsenal until the final whistle. He can do whatever he wants for me, as long as he’s not storming down the tunnel or having a go at the Boss. Sitting with a coat over his head? He’s on the bench for chrissake, he can sit however way he wants or finds comfortable.
Or perhaps you would rather Sanchez be strolling in the field when playing but sitting pretty when on the bench?
Ozil already has that tied up
Hell fucking yes. We complain about our players having no character for years. We complain about guys nicking a living. We finally get a guy who wants to give it his all every game and we fault him because we want him to switch it off like a robot when he’s off the pitch. Fuck outta here. It’s minor. Let it go. I’ve seen much worse from less important players.
Sanchez did not play with the normal energy. When he scored it was celebrated in a manner being about him not the team. Subtle things that hopefully do not get worse. I don’t mind selfish players who put the team first but I despise those who see themselves as the priority. Wenger is a good manager of this delicate balance but I hope for the best and fear the worst. Our season is more important than his goal totals.
Nothing to see here. Man who likes kicking a ball around is upset when he’s not allowed to kick a ball around anymore. It’s like being in the middle of a Threesome with Margot Robbie and Jennifer Lawrence and being dragged away in case you get tired. You just wanna play more
In Arsene’s defense there’s no way Alexis would last the full 90 in a 3-way with Margot Robbie and Jennifer Lawrence
I wouldn’t put it beyond him.
Which team do they play for?
Have to love the commitment with with Sanchez plays and his desire to always be on the pitch, but he is part of a team and needs to support his team and its players like Welbeck instead of sitting off to the side with his head down buried in his hood. It’s one thing to have a frown on your face when coming off, but to sit there like a pouting kid who didn’t get his way is not what a player of his stature should be doing.
it’s called passion. Wish we had more players with that attitude
Yeah, I hear you. I’m afraid to say, he should have conducted himself with the same professionalism when his arse hit the bench today, than he showed on the pitch.
there’s a difference between passion and childishness. his reaction was reminiscent of a brat. it was childish and immature. it’s something you’d expect a kid to do, not a grown up man who should be perceptive and considerate of others, especially Welbeck, who is returning after a lengthy and frustrating period of injuries.
no striker wants to be subbed off, but you have to take it with maturity. also, his elaborate gesticulations of frustration during games are bratty too. he needs to grow up.
Nobody would mistake Santi Cazorla for anything other than a winner, yet he would never behave like this. And his reward for winning us an FA Cup was being replaced by Ozil.
Pires said the CL final substitution was what convinced him that the boss might not value him all that highly, yet on the day he didn’t strop around.
What’s this guys problem?
Ozil replacing Cazorla? What the hell are you talking about?!!
I think we should value what we have in Alexis. He never has a strop on the pitch. He gives 100% all the time. He loves playing football and it seems there’s nothing else in his life apart from playing, training, sleeping, eating and his dogs. He should stay at Arsenal and become a club legend. He’s scoring at the same rate as Thierry and he’s top of the Premier League goal stats this year. We want 4-5 more years of him and he’ll have a bronze statue outside the Emirates. Wenger is playing him in the role he prefers… Read more »
He could be number one at Everton or Sunderland.
i think Sanchez is a great player, but i have notice his love to be in the media, he knows the media is watching, yet his antics is not encouraging to the team, more beneficial to the press and his agent, yes, we know he loves playing but lately it has become very theatrical or more soap opera-ish.
i definitely do not see arsenal thinking of selling him until summer, if at all, so his focus should be at least getting this team going, which i think still can get there if everyone put in a shift
I want a player to be upset when he gets subbed, because that means he WANTS to play. Let him be.
My Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t take Big Ben out of last week’s game when we had an unassailable lead and bigger things to worry about this week. There’s been nothing but anger at the coach for leaving him in there. I give Wenger credit for taking him out, regardless of his protestations.
Sanchez was pissed off because there were cheap goals on offer. What striker wants to get pulled off at that time, after doing all the hard work.
Definitely. He is tied for most goals in the premier league and wants to be the best, so he wanted to stay in and score again. When this guy plays, he is ferociously fired up, and I think being in that passionate state on the field is part of why he reacts like this. It’s part of who he is and part of how he plays. If you want the total Alexis package, this is part of it and it’s a pretty meaningless small part of it. The media will try to make it into a big deal, but Arsenal… Read more »
If its part of the package, then why did we never see it like this before today?
To be honest Sanchez’s reactions annoy me, yes he is a great player but it’s a petulant. Yes, no player likes to come off etc, but this is not a big game and he rarely comes off in those. He should show a bit more respect for the team mate coming on and the manager for giving him a rest to ensure he continues starting every game
I thought he was annoyed because he missed a good chance to score just before he went off and not because he went off. I sticking with that anyway
The fact that he has divided us as fans who admire him this much says a lot about how the team must be feeling. For all those in favor of his attitude I would question how you would react to the guy busting his butt every day to play and then sulking when not getting on the pitch? I say be heard away from the crowds and accept that the manager respects the team as a whole over individuals who sulk
Selfish sanchez
I’m quite happy when I get pulled off after scoring.
What was his reaction at Barcelona when he got subbed or never even got to play? I doubt he reacted so negatively openly. Solution . – get more world class in for competition. I doubt he could have done that in the invisibles
The invisibles were the Sp*rs team of that year.
*Invinsibles
Yawn…
I respect this guy all the time but yesterday he really misbehaved and i was not happy with him.
For real Alexis if you want to go far go together but if you want to go fast go alone.
PDI, public display of irritation. Sanchez is showing he loves the game, and is annoyed by Wenger’s decision. This is the first step in a process where the player is appeased by getting what he wants, meaning more money in a new contract or he becomes open to moving clubs.
The boss (Wenger) took the right decision. Alexis & Ozil are great players and Arsenal needs them in the next match against Bayern. This was already a job well-done and Wenger had to spare their energies for the next match. Bravo to arsen Wenger.
TmK
This is a mountain out of a molehill.
Yes, he was a bit unprofessional today. So what?
No, it’s not a big deal.
Move along, folks.
Personally, I thought it was all a bit pathetic. And kind of forced.
All these retards talking about Alexis being a winner is the reason he’s been acting … Henry was a better player, did you see him do unprofessional shit like this? Fuck that cultural crap… We are arsenal and we don’t behave like that no matted what. You know the world is watching. You can slam a door or whatever. Alexis we feel for you but please stop letting your reactions kill our vibe. We won but yet nobodys gonna talk about the recent 1st half syndrome we’ve been suffering, noooo, its the sanchez soap