Frank Lee
It’s a game of high stakes poker at Arsenal until the transfer window shuts, and you can be certain Alexis Sanchez won’t be making a first team appearance until his situation is resolved.
The club’s challenge for the Premier League, in a season with no Champions League distraction, is dependent on at the very least having as strong a squad as last season. For those who fancy a wager on a tilt at the title, you can see the best betting sites at FanBet.com, and the manager's press conference utterings indicate he certainly fancies his chances. Then again, his proclamations about the chances of his side have been stated regularly in the past and turned out to be hot air once the run-in appears on the horizon.
But his eternal optimism is dependent on Sanchez making a contribution, for which reason, he is willing to let the player go on a free next summer. It might be bad for the balance books, but for once, Wenger seems less concerned with that area, perhaps a clue that he himself believes the time will come for him to hang up his zip-coat in 2019. It is also confirmation that Wenger has total power when it comes to decisions on the playing staff, regardless of what Ivan Gazidis may say about it being a collaborative process.
Having made so many proclamations about Sanchez going nowhere, the manager can only justify his departure if the player publicly expresses his desire to depart. Naturally, the fee for the Chilean would be healthy enough to buy a high profile replacement, such as Thomas Lemar, Julian Draxler or Riyad Mahrez, although all would need time to settle in to the Arsenal team and for the first two, a new league. Arsenal may be in good shape for 2018-19 without Sanchez if they can secure his replacement now, but for the immediate season his loss would be a definite handicap.
Conversations between the player and the manager have made the situation clear for both sides, and the ball is now in Sanchez’s court. For the player himself, remaining a further year in North London wouldn’t be the worst decision. He would miss out on a wage rise that would benefit him an extra £7 or £8 million, but he’d get a lot more than that as a signing on fee as a free agent in 2018. Mesut Ozil is probably of the same mind, with an eye on a move to one of the big Turkish clubs. The only reason he would remain at Arsenal is the comfortable life he enjoys in London and the bigger wages. Certainly, there are no suitors currently who will pay anywhere near what the club would ask for him. And Wenger will see him as part of the jigsaw that could bring the team a first title in 13 seasons.
So, assuming Sanchez does not hand in a transfer request, there is every chance that Lacazette and Kolasinac will be the extent of Arsenal’s summer transfer window buying.
