Arsene Wenger has insisted that Alexis Sanchez will not be sold to a Premier League rival this summer, and that he will keep the Chilean at the club for the duration of his contract at least.
However, the Arsenal manager said he believes the 28 year old wants to stay with the club, and the issues over extending are down to the terms of the contract on offer and not because he wants out.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday night’s Premier League clash with Leicester, and just days after Alexis scored the winner at Wembley send us to our third cup final in four years, Wenger was steadfast that the likes of Chelsea and Man City would have to look elsewhere this summer.
“If he doesn’t sign a new deal, will I make him stay? Yes,” he said.
“Would I rather keep him than sell him to a Premier League rival? Yes. I don’t think you would sell him to any Premier League club, that is for sure. Why not?
“The question is more why would you sell him to another Premier League club? You want to be as strong as you can be and not strengthen the other teams.”
And on his future, he sounded confident that terms could be agreed.
“I think he will sign and stay because, first of all, he is happy here,” he continued.
“His desire is to stay. That is what I deeply believe. The disagreements are purely contractual – not on the desire.
“Both parties have the desire to find an agreement, so I think it will happen.”
Arsenal will wait until the summer to hold talks with Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, with all the focus right now on the final seven Premier League games and the FA Cup final on May 27th.
I want to hear “we’ll keep Sanchez forever”
“The question is more why would you sell him to another Premier League club?”
Because history.
Does he think weve just forogtten the pain of the RvP fiasco?
No, which is why I think he is saying this exactly right now. Otherwise, Captain Obvious would have a harder time being more tactless… this interview question wouldn’t even make any sense unless RvP happened.
Ferguson: Arsene, do me a favor and sell me RvP.
Wenger: Alex, what have you been drinking over there? Why would I strengthen an opponent, and satisfy that vain #&£@ at the same time!?
Ferguson: Wait, hear me out! It will only be for a year. Next year I’ll retire, and I will make sure Moyes take over. RvP will probably be playing for Besiktas or Fenerbache in three years.
Wenger: hahaha! Where’s my pen?
Well said.
I think maybe wenger is telling the truth .maybe Sanchez and his agent his agent is playing the hardball to get a good contract. Sanchez himself said him signing the contract is up to wenger( something like that). At least I hope that this is true. Truth is already from wenger and Sanchez nobody knows the truth
Different situation. We can afford to wait for the right offer this time around.
We all mock Spurs for when Sol jogged them on to play for us… If he doesn’t sign and he ends up at Chelsea or City on a free we will look like the biggest mugs in the Premier League. its surely too risky to do that. If he doesn’t sign this summer we have to sell him because the moment it gets to within 6 months of his deal finishing, legally other clubs can discuss pre-contractual terms with him, and there is nothing we can do about it. This is one of my biggest problems with Arsene I think.… Read more »
We can’t keep going over this. We were financially constraint, couldn’t offer RVP, Nasri etc. the wages they were being offered by other PL teams, we can now. Letting one of those players leave on a free would have negatively impacted us and if they weren’t staying we needed the cash to replace them, this is not the case now because we’re swimming in cash. We haven’t sold a top player to a rival in years and Wenger has made it clear that ozil and Sanchez would leave on a free before he sells them to a rival and at… Read more »
Exactly – if he doesn’t sign in the summer, then we should sell him to abroad to prevent him from leaving on a free. That’s what every other single club would do.
Would the board let a £50m+ asset walk away for nothing? I doubt it because we know all they care about is the money. Hope he signs and stays and keeps his enthusiasm, passion and winning mentality for the Arsenal because he is the only player that shows it week in week out.
I’d prefer we sell him this summer if he doesn’t sign…otherwise you can be guaranteed that he’ll be at Chelski or citeh the following season…and for nothing too!
Even if he does leave on a free, he’s certainly not going for nothing. We won’t see any cash, but you can be damn sure wherever he goes will be paying through there noses in terms of salary and signing on fees…
Where else could he really go? Juventus, or PSG. I doubt Bayern want him and he already played for Barca, so no Real for him. I dont see him wanting to play at another premier league club either. I think his best option is with us
I don’t think anyone outside PSG or the Premier League can afford him, honestly. Unless he wants to go to China.
Bayern would definitely go for him. Ribery and Robben are both in the last part of their careers.
Very logical …but there were murmurs that Alexis doesn’t want to go to Deutschland.
It depends on how important money is to him as well as Juventus or Bayern won’t pay him anything close to what Arsenal is reportedly offering him
Key word is reportedly….£300k was never reality, it was just to send out the notion that WE HAVE put a wage offer on the table and ball in in Alexis’ side of court..
Only the top Bayern and Juventus players make what Sanchez does currently. It’s highly unlikely he would get anymore than he currently does at Arsenal to leave. Premier League wages are highly inflated relative to other leagues (hence Wenger’s comment about how hard it is to move players on when they aren’t wanted). It’s actually conceivable that Sanchez could be forced to take a paycut to play for Bayern.
It’s TENTATIVELY sounding like he might actually stay after all, but we’re going to have to chuck a ridiculous amount of money at him to do so. And tbh he’s earnt it. Give him and Ozil what they deserve and let’s rebuild with this new system, wherever we finish, whoever the manager is. We have some quality players, but need a couple additions, added to the sort of tactical astuteness this new 3 at the back formation seems to be giving us.
Arsenal will pay him what they can, maybe even stretch the current salary structure somewhat to do so. But I bet you we won’t bust it wide open, not even for Alexis. There are limits to what we can afford, even now, and these things can have a huge knock-on effect…
Sanchez will get what he wants if we finish top 4 and win the cup. I wish.
Bollocks
When you see the green you’ll start dropping to your knees
You know you want Sanchez to go, Greg. Just say it, it’s fine. We won’t judge you.
I have no idea why Wenger is treating us like thick idiots. If Sanchez does not sign a new contract in the summer then he will be sold. Kroenke will never let a £50m asset leave in 12 months time for nothing.
Maybe Wenger is daring the board to front up the big cash they always bandy about. About the thick idiots bit… I have an idea but I’m trying to be polite. 🙂
If Sanchez doesn’t want to stay and PSG comes with $50m in the summer I’d say pack your bags mate.
Different story if it was to a premier league rival.
It s always more of the same with Wenger. And we as fans lose our memories very easily after a couple of wins.
Works both ways this memory losing thing. Some fans demand a mass harakiri after a loss. What do you expect Wenger to say? I don’t get the ‘more of the same’ thing. You want him to quote Sartre when asked about Sanchez’s situation? Do some beatboxing for your pleasure? What?
I had a silly dream last night that he scored against us as we wept..
AW has either misread or is oblivious to all of the signs on Alexis since January. Regardless of his statement on who Alexis could be sold to, it’s complete insanity to believe the club will not sell him in the summer transfer window when he doesn’t agree a new contract. this statement is just another sign to me of why change in our club is badly needed
He may be sending a message to other PL clubs to not bother.
As long as we’re not ‘competing’ to win the competition we are not selling to rivals. And of course winners like Sanchez deserve teams that match their ambition. We havent been that in a long long time.
We haven’t been many things in a long long time. Why only sell Sanchez, Ozil and the Ox? Why not set fire to Emirates too? Should solve our ‘competing’ problem.
Such as passive aggressive comment..
Wenger stays as do Kroenke and Gazidis.
Alexis leaves.
People will say support the team and hate Sanchez just like they hate everyone else who left to win something elsewhere.
And every fan of every other club will laugh at our club as the joke it is.
Same. Old. Arsenal.
They Will Laugh.
A horror film set in London about a 59 year old boy who wears Arsenal kits (100% genuine) to bed in dread of his Spurs-supporting uncle buried in the basement.
to not sell him in the summer if he wants to go or another offer comes in is not in the clubs ethos of sustainability! we previously sold to man u & man city! chelsea or city would pay him the big money to keep him money is no object to them, we lost out on many players to chelski not on transfer fees but wages and add ons,(Hazard & Mata) we cant change our policies now without upsetting the ethos of the club,as much as we all want him to stay its a catch 22, worst senario no FA… Read more »
Kinda remind me of RVP situation, when the club eventually sold him to manure. I sure hope he sign the extension.
The situation is completely different.
Wenger won’t answer questions about whether he’ll still be here but he keeps answering questions as if he’ll still be here.
Obviously, the journos are trying to be slick by constantly asking about future plans instead of having their direct questions stonewalled.
Wenger is intelligent and wiley enough to know this so maybe he’s just playing with them. And us.
Firstly I happen to think Wenger should leave preferably with another FA CUP win to his legacy ,you could see just how much this club means to him from his reaction on Sunday to the semi final win and his utter despondency when we have lost badly yet i still believe for the Arsenal to move forward change is needed, unfortunately we are NOT going to see that change its my view a contract has already been signed and he is waiting for us to mount a late charge for 4th place and a cup triumph to announce it !… Read more »
1. “Won’t sell him to any of our rivals” – so that leaves a move to PSG, Juve, Real or any other Champions League team a possibility then. At least he won’t sign for Gent/Genk or Athletico Azerbaijan in the Mickey Mouse Europe League.
2. “I will keep him here” = I’m staying though.
Don’t you just love the nearly end of season but the transfer window isn’t open yet drivel we get?
Why does the manager say he will make him stay if he does not sign. It is clearly a lie.
Please don’t treat us like idiots Arsene.
Well, thats a first 😛 rvp, nasri, sagna, clichy, cole, adebayor, toure and gallas spring to mind.
Same old bullshit he used with that Dutch cunt
I’m not sure how much control over this Arsene has, if he doesn’t sign the contract I’m pretty sure Kroenke and the board will sell him to the highest bidder. I’m sure the fans, manager and other players would prefer if we took a hit of £10-15m and sold him to PSG, Juve or Bayern than let him go to Chelsea or City – but none of us run the club.