According to James Olley, writing in the Evening Standard, ‘senior figures’ at Arsenal were inclined to sell Alexis Sanchez this summer if a big offer came in, but found Arsene Wenger intractable over the matter.
All summer the manager’s position has been unwavering, saying repeatedly that the Chilean would stay at the club, even though we run the risk of losing him on a free transfer next summer.
We can, of course, only speculate as to who those senior figures were, but you wouldn’t have to think too hard about those amongst them who would be more inclined to have £50m in the bank that Sanchez on the pitch.
The report also states that Wenger has decided not to pursue the signing of Juventus midfielder Mario Lemina, who looks set to join Southampton from the Italian giants.
The Gabon international was recommended to the 67 year old, but he seems focused on his pursuit of Monaco’s Thomas Lemar.
Arseblog News also understands that the club’s position on further arrivals is complicated by the need to move players on.
While the likes of Mathieu Debuchy, Carl Jenkinson, Kieran Gibbs and Lucas Perez won’t raise a huge amount of money from fees, their departures would free up significant amounts of wage money that could be redistributed.
Gabriel Paulista is another potential depature, with Valecia open about their interest, while there are question marks over the futures of Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Olivier Giroud, linked with moves back to France to Everton, appeared to confirm the fact he’s staying following Sunday’s Community Shield win.
The only sale Arsenal have made is Wojciech Szczesny to Juventus, and Wenger spoke openly after the Community Shield about the need to trim his squad.
Good, we need Alexis. Keep him.
I’m pretty sure Stan Kroenke is far too busy riding around his 500 miles of ranch land in his Jeep Wrangler YJ Sahara, hunting some genetically modified Dodo that he purchased from Dennis Nedry back in 93′ for like a bazillion dollars, whilst dressed in some ridiculous off tan or beige coloured hunting attire from the 1900’s….. to care about whether Arsenal sell Alexis Sanchez or not.
Like the bad guy in the original Jumanji….hahaha!
Good on Wenger I say.
Board will force to sell Alexis and then hide behind Wenger while he takes flak from blud and fam and yer da.
I’d been wondering whether Arsene was being so explicit with the press about Alexis staying in order to tie the board’s hands. Would make a bit of sense after all the rumours of a rift over his new contract.
If so, it’s a pretty cunning and bold move by Arsene (given that he’s basically an employee telling his bosses what they can do, at the end of the day).
Although maybe it’s all just gossip from the Standard.
Might very well be something to that. I imagine he’s been left out to dry on numerous occasions, and this is a clever way of avoiding that. If Alexis is sold at this point, everyone knows it certainly hasn’t been down to Wenger.
I may have become an old cynic, but my first reaction to this article was that the club has leaked this to try and rebuild Wenger in the eyes of the fans.
I think Wenger is due a lot more respect than that to be honest.
All this story does is underpin Wenger’s comment regarding not being in a position where we have to sell.
Sure, some board members might be inclined to, it’s what they are used to, but Arsene knows what’s best from a football perspective.
Really pleased he is staying firm on this one, Arsene does seem somewhat invigorated since the end of the last season.
Now to offload some of those waiting in the departure lounge and bring in Lemar. Hopefully before the end of the month ??
What more respect than to heap all of the credit on him? I’m not saying that this is what has happened but the club and Wenger have been on a big effort to get the fans back onside recently (just about every interview with Wenger and the players mentions how the fans need to get behind the team) and saying that it was all Wenger’s decision can only help that. It would be quite a magnanimous thing of the Board to do when you think about it.
It is shortsighted not to sell. Who will we get next summer when transfer fees will climb to 75 millions for same quality and we will have forfeited almost 50 millions ?
Don’t start talking common sense around here
James Olney has a pretty good rep
I think Wenger would walk out of the club if the board elect to sell Sanchez especially when he’s publicly saying the player is not for sale. That would undermine him to the fullest. Their hands are tied because to find a new manager in such a short time would be darn difficult and still would have to compensate Wenger somewhat on his new contract…..oh well they’ll just hike the ticket prices next season to recoup the loss.
It what it is…..whatever…
Truer words were never spoken
Just terminate the contracts of Debuchy and Jenks. Gibbs, Gabriel and 10-15mil if possible set a deadline for Ox and Jack for contracts. Get our house in order asap, we need a CM and Lemar would be fantastic. Why we have taken so long to sort our shit out is ridiculous! COYG
You can’t just terminate the contract without having pay the remainder. A lot better to get a club to take all their wages off our hands or a high % of their wages.
Debuchy is probably on a decent amount, so terminating his contract would cost us a bit. regardless terminating costs us money, keeping them gives us a potential to sell them for some money back. Personally from those 3 wingbacks i would keep gibbo till january. with only 6 center backs to play 3 at the back*, and kos needing injections before every game and it being per’s last season that means 4 solid cb’s you can trust to play 50 games. say another two get injured/suspended. then monreal and kolasinac come in at the back and we need a lwb.… Read more »
I think we keep Gibbs, but notice your argument was “We lack CB depth so we should keep another LWB”
Shud set a deadline for Ozil also.
No the market will as usual see a scramble in the last week or so…its always been like that…it’s just negotiating now but once clubs see they have to get players in they will buy…plus usually first and second week of the season players do get injured…so its a waiting game for now.
Wenger has acted well this summer and his stance on Alexis has been refreshing. It is clear that we need Alexis at Arsenal if we are to have a successful season. If he leaves us next summer then I believe we will be in a better position than we are just now.
No brainer. We’d easily recoup that 50m if he gets us to the ucl or even better wins us the league or at least finish in the top 2.
Sell Alexis and we will not make the top 4. It’s impossible to get anyone remotely close to him in the market at the moment(yes that includes Mahrez)
The board can get fucked, honestly. Can’t make the same mistake as with RVP
why we are after Lemar since we have Iwobi.they look basically the same.may be a little upgrade
Because Alexis will be gone at the latest by the end of next season.
Agreed. The way he handled himself on the ball against one the top teams in the league on the weekend proves that we don’t need Lemar. If Alex can up his game on his shooting he is going to be a beast for the Arsenal for years to come.
Alex is relatively still young…and he seems to have a football brain…loads of talent he’s still learning and he’s been with us since he was 8 or 9. I personally think he’s been groomed for that #10 role where he’s shown his best form.
I am guessing you guessed they play the same position.
Ironically Lemina plays where Xhaka, Ramsey, Wilshere, Elneny and Santi play.
Not the number 10 nor the holding midfield.
i prefer trying Kolasinac in defensive midfield role.he has all the attribute to become a good DMF.he is baller,quick,physical.better to complement Xhaka imo
I think we have Thomas Vermaelen for that…
Haha!
He wishes he was a baller.
He wishes he was a little bit taller.
I think he mentioned Lemar, not Lemina
Random Fact:
We now have FOUR Alexes. Alex Oxlade, Alex Iwobi, Alexis Sanchez and now Alexandre Lacazette.
Can you imagine the confusion when someone calls for the ball in attack…
They are about the same age, difference being Lemar contributed over 30 points(g+a) last season.
Iwobi is a great talent.
Lemar though is a world-beater in the making.
I like Iwobi but he still lacks consistency which Lemar doesn’t and frankly he is better anyway.
Why does it take so long for this club to sort out transfers? We want lemar let’s go get lemar before Barca swoops in. I know player sales are needed but sort that out after. Don’t want lemar to be another one of wingers “almost signed” great players.
It’s almost like the selling clubs can say no….
I’d imagine there are Man City fans out there saying exactly the same thing about Sanchez
Replacing 30 goals and 14 assists is extremely difficult.
Giving those 30goals and 14 assists to a rival and your waving the white flag.
If this is true? And it would certainly be true to form, then it’s clear we have an owner who doesn’t care whether we compete for the PL title this season.
Arsene might have some leeway with Stan as he’s made him substantially richer by lowering debt at the detriment to our success, I fear for the guy who follows Arsene, as I can’t imagine him being given the same sort of luxury.
#KroenkeOut
Ever Consistently the cockle-Womble, Danny Mills on sky Sports News claims that Sanchez is unhappy (does he have a personal relationship with the Chilean?) and is desperate to get away, therefore Arsenal will be lucky to finish 6th or 7th. How this guy get a punditry job is beyond me.
Danny Mills, the name rings a bell. Is he the guy who played a couple of games for England when no better option existed and nearly got himself sent off for thuggery every ten minutes? He does commentary??? I didn’t even know he could talk. Must have taken him some time and effort to learn how to do that. Well done!
Superb comment
Danny Mills, isn’t he the guy who got done by Thierry Henry near the corner flag?
https://youtu.be/OhR-WnafzoE
It didn’t work out the one time he tried to play football and he never attempted it again. Fair play to the bloke.
It won’t let me upvote you more than once
The top 6 is going to be a real scrap and the crap with the clubs below that is going to be just as intense.
I don’t think it’s that wild of a prediction that we’ll finish 6th with the competition we’re up against.
Sure, just as long as you stay positive. And I like that about you. Always positive about our team.
The “ever reputable” journalists at Goal seem to think we will finish 5th even with Sanchez….
Remember every expert got it wrong when Leicester did the bizzo so continue to ignore the whole lot of em .
Arsenal Forever up the Gunners
I’m pretty certain none of them said Chavski would win last season as well…. And they’d have felt pretty smug about that until mid-December…
Murphy once remembered his own name with very little assistance clearly he is over qualified as a pundit
Luggy Linker sheepy shearer urly burley and all the others except Dixie Nige andThierry need gaffer tape round their gobs.
If only commentary was optional then we would know what their opinions were truly worth. I don’t think their own mothers would vote for them.
Remember fans commentary? That soon stopped cos people preferred amateurs to ego’s
try this line up we will win the Title. Cech,Mustafi(LCB),Mertisaker(CB),Koscielny(RCB),Monreal(LWB),Chambo(RWB),Kolacinac(CDM),Xhaka(CM),Ozil(CM),Sanchez(CM),Lacaztte(ST)
I think we just solved the “Wenger out, but Who in?” conundrum.
dont u think we need midfield overhaul?
Replace Vellerin for Ox and it’s a winner.
Sums up the difference between someone who prioritises football, and someone who clearly doesn’t. The fact that the latter actually runs Arsenal Football Club makes it all the more poignant.
I’m pretty sure you can say that about every other PL teams board of directors…
Sure, but that doesn’t make it any better. I’m just deriding the fact that profit takes precedence over sporting success, that’s all.
Maybe you need the balance of business people to ensure longevity of the club in addition to the manager who is primarily tasked with on field success. Too much control in either set of hands is bad news. For the first half of my life I was a Leeds supporter until that club thought spending money they didn’t have was the answer to everything. For the past 7 years I have been fully committed to Arsenal and I think the board/manager balance in our club is right. Immensely proud to be an arsenal fan and my 9 year old son… Read more »
Fully committed? Who changes teams half way through their life?
Every single Leeds supporter with any sense….
The £50m loss for Alexis is distorted. For him to sign a new deal would cost a massive signing on fee plus a huge wage hike.
The real cost of letting him go for nowt next year is nearer £20m if we’re honest. No biggy, he’ll be nearer 30 then and his value will be less anyway
If the choice is only he signs a new deal or he goes then you’re right. But, right now, he’s signed nothing and walks for nothing next summer. So £50m (or however much we’ve turned down for him) isn’t distorted, it’s money that we could have now but won’t have in 10 months’ time. I actually think it’s an incredibly brave decision and, if true, the club should be praised for putting sporting ambition over income. Let’s not forget that the Board could easily just tell Wenger they’re selling if they wanted to. Unfortunately, despite all that Wenger has said… Read more »
In other major money sports — baseball, basketball, football, ice hockey, rugby — it is not unusual to sign players for a contract and then at the end of that contract decide whether or not you want to bid on his services for another contract. Sometimes, a club might essentially swap someone for some younger prospects right towards the end but even then the player usually prefers to play out his existing contract term at his new club and then become available as a free agent. I seem to remember Bayern Munich saying something similar. They buy a player for… Read more »
Alexis is gone either this summer or by May. You get the feeling the Ox is for the off. Wenger is dead set on getting Lemar. Cynic in me says if we get Lemar, they’ll sell Alexis. But not the other way round.
How about sign lemar and sell ox
I actually think they’ll sell the OX and not Sanchez if we get Lemar. I know people absolutely love the Ox, but at this point he is a wildly inconsistent back-up wing back. He’s not going to start on the left, and Bellerin is preferred on the right. He’s not going to start in the center either like he wants. If we could sell him for a decent fee (30m ish) I think it would be good business considering he really hasn’t fulfilled his potential.
Massively agree. If anyone wants to pay us £30m for Ox then i’d bite their hands off. A squad player who, though undoubtedly talented, we could certainly improve on.
Agreed–if the rumors are true that he won’t sign a new contract unless he’s played through the middle, we should take what we can get for him this summer. If he stays, it doesn’t take too much imagination to see him as the next Theo in three years–finally gets his chance in his preferred central position and underwhelms, declares he aims to earn his spot on the wing, etc. And we’ll all be sitting here saying he’s been with the club for ten years and no one knows what his best position is.
Oh, is Alexis Sanchez entering the last year of his deal? I hadn’t heard.
I had a dream last night, where I was jogging alongside Alexis, trying to persuade him not to leave Arsenal. I was amazed that I was able to keep up with his pace, while I was trying to make all kinds of possible reasons why it would be foolish if he had not stayed. I can say, I did my best, considering how starstruck I was, but if he still leaves, please do not blame me.
This is great but in the meantime can we sign Mahrez and Lemar so we won’t be affected when Alexis leaves on a free
Even if he had nothing to do with this (which he did), Kroenke is still a cunt.
I would try to get Alexis to sign a new contract with a massive wage hike and ridiculously low release clause of, say, £20M that can be triggered next summer.
Win-win IMO as he gets a load more money in his last season, he has an escape route next summer with a fee that wouldn’t scare any serious buyer and we get more than the nothing we would get if he went on a Bosman…
And, of course, if he then decides to stay and help us to defend the double and win the 2018-’19 Champions League…..
Given the wage demands he’s been making to Bayern etc (confirmed publically) any pay hike and signing on fee would probably actually exceed the 20m we would get back. it’s probably not worth doing unless you could 40m plus
It’s only worth considering this option if he’ll accept a clause saying that he can only be bought by a non-PL team…
If we would offload the mentioned 4 defenders plus Lucas Perez and would manage to get van Dijk – I think our defence (and defending ability of the midfield) would be on a par with the best teams.
Nacho, Kolasinac, van Dijk, Koscielny, BFG, Mustafi, Bellerin, (plus: Xhaka, Ramsey, Coquelin, Elneny and the Ox)
I think Arsene is keeping Alexis because he knows he won’t sulk or give up on the pitch despite his desire to play elsewhere.
RVP on the other hand he cut his losses as he knew he would tank it to force a move.
I don’t believe this.
I think all these details has been sorted out when Wenger’s new contract has been discussed and I find it impossible that Gazidis comes now and says “You know what, forgot to mention that we take the decisions on transfers, and actually we feel like selling Sanchez”.
It is clear who takes the decisions in the next two years, and his name starts with A and finishes with RSENE.
Are we being prepared by the PR department for Sanchez’s departure? It would make absolute sense to package it as Wenger having been overrruled by some faceless seniors on the Board.
We love you Arsene Wenger – so sit yourself down and just admire.
We will sell if offer is good enough so long as not in PL.
IF PL, we will keep him.
Its simple.
Alexis would be a 50 mil write off. Getting back into Champions League is about a guaranteed 25 mil bonus (difference between Europa League v. CL) plus marketing /commercial money. Plus if we finish in the top 4 it means about 5 mil in added money for the league. So minus commercial revenue your talking about a true loss of 20 million. We can afford it. On top of that the confidence factor for the squad and the fans is incalculable.
If PSG actually does bid 80 million for him (which I doubt is a true story) then I can’t see how Wenger can turn that down. If we pay 52 million for Lacazette then Alexis has to be worth more given his goal scoring record and impact in the PL (vs just in France).
Well, if Alexis wants to go, make sure we get something for him, at least $60m. Keep Wilshere, let go of Ramsey and Coq. Ramsey is grossly overrated, Coq has reached his peak, and that is not enough to bring is to the promissed land… Xhaka needs Santi or Wilshere to be fit, def.not Ramsey or Elneny…
Wondering why we are not being mentioned in connection with Jack Rodwell. He ticks a few boxes. His club has said he is available. The only other reported interest is from Spurs and we can pay him more than them. He is strong. Still young. Scores goals and gives us that other attacking midfield option. His inconsistency might be in response to Everton’s style or coaching. Is there a downside?
Downside is people can’t even differentiate Ross Barkley from another promising midfielder from Everton.
So two things. Firstly, yes you can’t get anyone close to Sanchez for the money we’ll get for him. But we will still need to replace him next year anyway. Either we sell him now for let’s say 50 mil and add another 20-30 to get a replacement or we get nothing for him and have to arrange 80 mil all out of our pockets. The financially better option is obvious. Secondly, while it might be true that the board has their motives in getting cash in the bank let’s not be hypocritical here. Mr Wenger, with only 2 years… Read more »