Having become the joint leading goalscorer for his country, with 38 goals, Alexis Sanchez has insisted he’s happy in London and is ready to see out his contract with Arsenal.
The Chilean has been linked with moves to Chelsea, and other European clubs this summer due to him only having 12 months left on his current contract, but he says he’s ready to see out his deal with the Gunners.
Speaking after the 3-1 win over Venezuela, Sanchez said, “I am happy in London and I hope to finish my contract well there. I’d like to stay in a city for a long time, in a team that is a winner, with winning mentality.”
Quite what that means for when his contract expires is another thing, but both Sanchez and Mesut Ozil – both heading into the final year of their deals – have yet to agree new terms with Arsenal.
That has led to speculation about his future and, with the club unlikely to let a prize asset go for nothing in a year’s time, a sale this summer is certainly a possibility.
You don’t have to be an expert between the lines reader to read between this lines on this one, but let’s see what Sanchez can do between now and the end of the season to help turn around what has been a difficult few weeks.
As for becoming the joint leading scorer for his country, he said, “It was a very important goal for me. Me and Marcelo Salas are the historic scorers and that personally makes me happy.”
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Thanks to @jackbedlam for the link
It’s going to be difficult to find a man like Alexis Sanchez. After all, he will be missed.
Unless, Arsenal is willing to pay up what’s he’s really worth. Sign that thing.
We’ve been told time and time again that we no longer need to sell top players. Well we don’t need to now, but we have to due to the mentality created at the club. Years of not competing have left club morale in a really bad place and in trying to protect our future, we’ve destroyed our club ethos and reputation. You can’t just press a button and say “Yes, we are ready to win things again” By selling our best players year after year, players know that Arsenal are a decent career stepping stone but not a viable long… Read more »
If it happens, it’s Van Persie once again, maybe something wrong with our club direction, i read Van Persie letter once again and maybe it’s true that our boards and manager have some issues about our club direction.
Also massive issues with self entitled players in football these days. Maradona, Socrates, these great great great players, how much did they make compared to let’s say PL bench warmers ?
I always thought the same, I believed him and was not on the knee-jerk reaction bandwagon. Moving to Man U was a kick in the teeth, as it will be if Sanchez stays in the UK, or worse in London. THAT must not be allowed to happen.
There plenty of highly skillful players around in their prime or close to. Some are priced too high, other settled and unavailable. But some may still be unsettled despite long term contracts. Greizzman, Mahrez, Isco, Hazard, Dybala, Lucas Moura, Pastore, Draxler to name a few. If Alexis moves, it could precipitate a chain reaction depending where he goes. Sure we will miss his dynamism and preferably we should keep as settled a team as possible but if we need to find a replacement, we can find someone. The key is we must make the Top4 trophy minimum otherwise we will… Read more »
Everyone says ‘we need to pay him wot he’s worth’ the thing is I don’t believe it’s about money for him. If we were serious contenders in the league and champions league I’m convinced he’d sign. He’s a winner and Arsenal football club isn’t. It’s as simple as that.
The truth really hurts. It’s so sad that’s the true state of affairs atm as much us we love our club so much.
This really put a sour taste in my mouth. I think Alexis leaving to Chelsea is worse than RVP leaving to United. We were financially constraint back then which was why we couldn’t compete for the title or with the wages the top clubs were offering, fair enough. Alexis leaving to Chelsea to play for a team with winning mentality. Wtf does that say about Arsenal? That honestly made me feel like it’s Lukaku asking to leave Everton. I’d rather he stayed against his will and left on a free then sell him to Chelsea. Kroenke can fuck off with… Read more »
What does it say about Alexis that he’s flirting with Chelsea while contracted to us? High maintenance to say the least.
This reflects poorly on all involved.
He wants Chelsea (read between the lines). Let’s just hope the club force a sale overseas this summer.
If we do sell him, I suggest it’s to FC Pifflequim in Micronesia
Reliable, though unnamed, sources suggest that FC Pifflequim’s new Qatari owners are ready to offer Sanchez £775,000 p/week to become the club’s record signing. It is understood that a fee of £80m (which may rise to £97.5m with add-ons) is the likely opening offer. Sanchez’s agent has also recently been reported as saying that it has always been Sanchez’s dream to lift the OFC Champions League trophy (in an interview on V6AH Radio Pohnpei). Negotiations to secure seats for Atom and Humber on the Pifflequim board are said to be at an advanced stage already.
FC Pifflequim is part of the City Football Group, I hear he will be loaned straight to MANCITY after a couple weeks training at Melbourne City, then a few games with New York City on his way to the blue side of Manchester.
If him stating he wants to go to Chelsea forces Wenger to reassess his position and quit then its worth it in my eyes.
You think Kroenke and Gazidis could bring in a manager and get through the next transfer window while keeping Alexis from the dark side? That’s optimistic.
I wonder what is better for us sell him to another club outside premier league this transfer window or risk loosing him to Chelsea for free.
Both of those doesn’t look good for us
If it really is his intention to run down his contract and join Chelsea, it hurts me to say it, but I hope the club sell him this summer. Sad to see one of the best players we have ever had go out this way.
So……………Chelsea, then.
There’s your choice, Arsene. Mov e him on this Summer to another European league, or let him see out his contract and then stroll over to Stamford Bridge.
And with him not at Arsenal, there is nothing stopping him ending up at Chelsea anyway.
Cesc is a prime example of that.
This is getting bad!! If he does what I think he’s talking about doing…sheeeez
If he is staying and we genuinely do only have him for one more season, I’d ruddy love to see what a different manager can do with him and other perhaps fresh faces around him.
From a mentality perspective he’s the hungriest winner we’ve had for some time. It’s be lovely if we could say goodbye to him next season by doing just that, winning.
Arsene: It’s usually not about money.
Alexis: Umm actually it kind of is mate.
Arsene: It’s about the player’s love for the club…
Alexis: Nope.
Arsene: …whether he is fulfilled…
Alexis: ZZZzzzzz
Arsene: …and feels like he’s in the right situation…
Alex: The situation is crap you old pile of brain dead French beans, it’s complete shite but if you give me enough cash I’ll stay anyway ok? 250k a week and I’m yours.
Arsene: He doesn’t wanna stay, I reckon we have to sell him.
He’s going to stay for another year. We have to win the league or CL next year. If we don’t he’ll walk on a free transfer and he’ll have his pick.
Never good news when a player says they wanna see out their contract… Mkhitaryan said the same thing going into his final year at Dortmund, for example. This is just the most diplomatic way he could say he is leaving, because it inherently puts the club in a position where they have to force him out for money or lose him for nothing. Makes him look more loyal and makes the club look like the bad guys. I think he knows this and his agent probably has told him to say this. Sorry for being the pessimistic Paul 🙁
Spot on. No better way to force the clubs hand. “Give me what I want or I leave for nothing”. Then becomes the clubs decision.
If he has to go, better to go for a fee this summer then for sfa next summer!
What if – We would give him what he wants.
Just sell a bunch of players who haven’t manage to convince for years (Ramsey or Wilshere, Campbell, 1 of our 3 keepers -Sczesny, Cech, Ospina-, Giroud or Perez, plus 1 of our 6 central defenders) Then…
Buy a world class attacker (Lukaku, Dybala whatever) plus put a knife to our manager’s throat (whoever he is): Do it (make the team competitive until the very and of last season) or Leave!
Isn’t it what we want too?
Bad news, he wants to stay in London but Arsenal is not a winning team with a winning mentality…
Correct me if im wrong here but based on whats been doing the rounds, we’ve offered Ozil 280k a week to stay, Sanchez wants 250k a week to stay but we’ve only offered him around 200k. (Again just going by John Cross, Jermey Wilson etc) All due respect to Mesut but surely getting Alexis for what he wants is a better deal that what we’ve offered Ozil. Even when you add it all up, are we gonna get a player on his level for 36 mil (assuming its a new 3 year deal) in the current market? Not a hope.
Come and get me Chelsea
Maybe he is not limiting himself to Chelsea… WHU, even spuds… gawd!
” I’d like to stay in a city for a long time, in a team that is a winner, with winning mentality.”” This is quite ominous. 1. He speaks of the city, rather than Arsenal 2. If he meant Arsenal, why not just say it? Why not say “I like this city and this club”? 3. His body language in games has shown he definitely doesn’t believe this team has a winning mentality. It always seems that’s the issue he has with this club. 4. We know we ain’t winning shit this season (unless we win the FA Cup, which… Read more »
So basically he is saying start winning things or I’m off to Chelsea
Or maybe we will cash in before his contract is up
Meh, just sell him. We have YaYa Sanogo.
Sanogo’s contract is also coming to an end.
I can’t blame Alexis for wanting to play for a club that’s competitive and has a winning spirit. Arsenal must go from being perrenial also-rans to being the top dogs. Even die-hard Arsenal fans doubt our abilities to win THE EPL or Champions League. If Wenger stays, which is more likely and probably the right thing, he should start players purely on merits. Complacency has crept into certain players: Bellerin, Coquelin, Ramsey, Ozil, even Sanchez and Koscielny.
I wish Wenger would go back to buying playing young prodigies like Nasri and Fabregas. I’m tired of watching feeble minded old farts put up less of a fight in the league than the young Arsenal teams of 2005-2009. At least we had an excuse then.
I think sometimes a club needs to take a hit to improve things. If that hit is to pay him above what the club wants, then do it. If other players then get uppity and try the same garbage then they can be sold. They arent at his level. Alexis is too good a player to just let go without a fight. Arsenal can win things with him as the main attacker. Throw the chequebook at him, give him a farm full of puppies, and then rebuild the squad to suit his style. He is the main man, and should… Read more »
The next 12 months in the life of Arsenal will look like this (don’t say you weren’t warned): 1. Wenger sings new contract (regardless 1 or 2 years) 2. In the summer we cash in on Alexis and couple of unimportant players 3. We get 5 “as new signings” players and that’s all about it. Mertesacker will start the season fresh, Cazorla heals completely, Wilshere comes back, Campbell comes back, Chambers comes back. That will make us the smartest club on the face of the earth since the birth of the football game. 4. When the ship starts to sink… Read more »
I don’t mind selling him to Bayern or Juve, but Chelsea, our rival in the league, madness, don’t let that happens Arsenal, he is our best player, show some dignity.
Can’t believe our fans want him to be sold this summer rather than seeing him for another season.
Why not keep him for another season, rather than selling him for 25-30 million and have a chance of winning the League or CL.
Who knows maybe he’ll decide to stay like De Gea did.
because the alternative of him doing a sol campbell and joining chelski for nothing is infinitely worse.
I wonder if he listens to Olivia Newton-Juan records or if she’s famous in Chile. She’s pretty famous in the USA. She’s not American though she’s Australian.
That’s a lot of misclick thumbsdowns
I actually cant really blame him. This club mentality at the moment isn’t that of a winning team, top players (specially someone like him since he is a winner, he always gives his all and try hard to make things happen) would want to be in clubs that matches his ambitions. We dont
Our tikcet price does match his ambition. Wengers salary does. Our yearly income does. Our board/managment on the other hand have whole different priorities. Arsenal Business brand wont change its mentality until these American owners are in charge of our mutual passion.
Board or owners can’t be blamed solely as much because we have invested heavily in the squad these past three years. Everyone know where the Problem is, it’s just some are quite out of respect and some are very vocal..
when you say heavily you mean the 90m we spent this summer?
because city chelsea and united spend about 100m per summer since 2004-5…….
nice name…
Not true Chelsea have spent less than arsenal over the last five years.
When you’re at it, our number of fans too match his ambition. I agree owners do not care much about winning titles really. Kreonke alone owns teams in different sport which none are successful in sport but all great in business charts. Says a lot
Sure, tickets, Arsene’s Salary and income does, but does a football player cares about how much the manager wins, how much money the team makes? or do they care about WINNING or at least be in the fight, heck, at least playing good and showing balls and that they want to win. Does this team shows that kind of ambition? does the board shows we want to be up there winning things, fighting for things? or are just happy signing good mediocre players who are happy with sht perfomances as long as they get the paycheck? Is exactly like you… Read more »
Oh please…he’s just saying he wants to leave for Chelsea. He’s going to Chelsea. This has got to be a joke.
“I’d like to stay in a city for a long time, in a team that is a winner, with winning mentality.”
does anyone think Arsenal fits that bill?
Up for yes
Down for no
This team has been far from a winner after Highbury. We have won 2 FAs in 13 years.
And if you believe we still have the mentality of it, a team with winning mentality wouldnt bear more than a decade of medicority and yet offer extentions to their manager. Our owners dont even care about results as long as we fill their pockets.
Correct. Like it or not it is a business.
Correct. It’s a business and a club. And will be here hopefully longer than either of us are with our traditions and the class way we conduct ourselves. The values of Arsenal football club are why I support it , and those values are why I will continue to support it through good times and not so good times. It’s a bad season, but still a great club, and I’m proud to be a supporter. I want Alex is to stay , the club wants him to stay…if he doesn’t then life will go on and someone else will step… Read more »
I felt Chelsea so bad in his talks. Wish we were as much ambitious. Our carefree board
Well that clears it up…he’s off to Spurs
How to get downvoted quickly:
So he wants to stay in the city with a winning mentality.
Hmm..
Definetely talking about transferring to Spurs, doesn’t he?
Surely not even Arsenal could be spineless and tone-deaf enough to sell Sanchez to Chelsea. If he runs down his contract and goes there on a free – whatever, nothing the club can do about that. But surely the club can’t sell him to Chelsea willingly. If they think fan morale is bad now, just wait and see what it’d be like after that.
Like they didnt sell RVP
If he joins Chelsea i will quit watching football..
Put him on the bench for the reserves for a year, or better still name him in the team and substitute him ten minutes in to every match. No way we should accommodate a move to Chelsea in any way.
It s clear he says Arsenal lacks a winning mentality; and he s right. Pity that the current manager is gonna stay when any other top team in the world would ve sacked him long ago.
Spend some fucking money on Alexis at least. Then others will come. If they sell him to Chelski or any other direct rival then Gooners should stay away from home games. And protest against owner and board. Sport is about building a team (hence pay Alexis top dollar) … owners etc must be blind to the unrest.
But will the club let him or try and reap some return? Another player to potentially watch is Isco Alcaron. He’s played 30 matches this season at Madrid but still seems a little unsettled. Has fantastic Spanish feet ala Santi, been played in a deeper midfield role but can also play higher up or on the wings if need be. Highly technical to say the least. If say Alexis stays and Ozil leaves, then maybe someone like Isco to take on the attacking midfield role (or Ramsey as alternate) with Alexis on the flank or up top. We are definitely… Read more »
Swap him for in return £15 million and rash ford or martial with man Utd or
Alexis for £30 million and fabagas’!!
Any takers
Just asking ?
As far as i know, or papers been saying, Isco will be presented a new improved contract, while James Rodriguez will be the one who will most likely be free to go on RM squad
I am really tired of this circus around one or two players when we have a season to salvage. It’s increasingly becoming major distraction to a group of players that are in dire need of confidence. He has a contract. Let’s hold him to it!! Only sell if we have a good replacement. Despite all the gloom, there will always be players dying to come to Arsenal. This team is and will always be bigger than any player (however good they’re). If he so badly wants to leave then let him hand in a transfer request. Even then the club… Read more »
Long shot, but does anyone got a link to the original (Spanish) interview/transcript of this?
http://www.24horas.cl/deportes/futbol-internacional/alexis-sanchez-dio-luces-sobre-su-futuro-2341530
Would be shocked if our money minded board doesn’t decide on selling him
Clearly the only reason he wants to stay in London is that he would have to put Atom and Humber into quarantine if he moved elsewhere.
Vital bargaining chip for Arsenal. And Chelsea, unfortunately…
“I’d like to stay in a city for a long time, in a team that is a winner, with winning mentality.”
Basically start winning some shit or I’m going to Chelsea on a free.
Ozil and Sanchez will both re-sign big contracts with us, don’t worry, and try to refrain from playing the media game of twisting words and interpreting body language to illicit the worst narrative possible. It’s bad for one’s health.