Good day Gooners!!!
Here’s a feed coming in from a few hours ago that might not go down with most Arsenal fans: Serie A champions Juventus have made a £26m bid for Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez, according to The Sun. The report claims that Juventus manager Max Allegri has sanctioned the move for the Chilean international after his own first choice striker Alvaro Morata returned to Real Madrid.
What is more concerning is the word that has come in to the news from Mark Brus for ‘The Metro. According to this report, the Chilean’s agent Fernando Felicevich has told Arsenal that his client wants to leave.
Alexis Sanchez, who recently won the Copa America with Chile beating Argentina in the final, also won the Golden ball for the same, and along with Mesut Ozil, is considered one of Arsenal’s most important players. He has netted 29 goals in the two seasons he has played for the North London side, featuring mostly on the wing.
At a moment when we are all just beginning to believe that Arsenal are not a club that needs to sell it’s best players, this report is unlikely to go down well with most Arsenal fans worldwide.
One can remain hopeful that Arsene Wenger will not sanction a move for the Chilean, giving him a ‘not-for-sale-at-any-price’ tag. This will not hold true if what the Chilean’s agent is saying is true, for no club would want to hold onto a player against his will.
Sanchez enjoyed a phenomenal first season at the Emirates. Two long range shots from the outside of the 18 yard box; one against Liverpool in the premier league and one against Aston Villa in the FA cup final ( Absolute belter, was it not?) were two moments of extreme rapture in the lives of Arsenal fans that season. His invaluable contribution to the team in terms of goals, hard work in transition and cutting into the opponent’s box from the left, have all yielded desired results. He did see a dip in form after he returned from injury last season, but for a player of his caliber, it is safe to presume that he will return to his best in the coming season.
Alexis is a winger-forward, while Juventus have just lost an ‘out and out’ striker. While Juventus did try to sign him from Barcelona at the time Arsenal won the race for him, the context for their interest now has changed. Really though; do they “really” want to utilize Alexis as a centre forward?
One can keep his or her fingers crossed for two things at the moment:
One, that Fernando Felicevich is possibly high, and the other, that Juventus will be told to forget about Sanchez by Arsene Wenger.
