WENGER: SANCHEZ TO RIVALS? I’D RATHER LET HIM LEAVE FOR NOTHING
ARSENE WENGER says he would rather let Alexis Sanchez leave for FREE than sell him to a Premier League rival. Manchester United are the latest club to be interested in the Arsenal striker whose current deal expires in 2018 – with Manchester City and Chelsea also keen. Sanchez is locked in a contract stalemate with the Gunners after being offered in excess of £250,000 a week. But Arsenal manager Wenger insists
will not sell this summer and claimed it is different from when they let Robin van Persie (above) join United in 2012. He said: “I don’t think that you would sell Alexis to any Premier League club, that is for sure. 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. “I let Van Persie go in the last year of his contract because Van Persie was 29, going on 30, and he was signing a long-term contract. That is not the case with Alexis. I personally think he will sign and stay here. “Even if he doesn’t sign a new deal, will I make him stay? Yes. Would I rather keep him than sell to a Premier League rival? Yes. “But first of all, he is happy here. His desire is as well to stay. That is what I deeply believe. The disagreements are more purely contractual. “Both parties have the desire to find an agreement, so I think it will happen.” It is hard to imagine Arsenal turning down a £50million bid for a player with just one year left on his contract, but they would rather sell abroad. Alex Oxlade-chamberlain (above) is a doubt tonight after suffering cramp in Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final win.