‘Tired’ Alexis in need of lift

EMOTIONAL Alexis Sanchez took to Instagram to say how “tired” he is feeling after a disastrous international break compounded the misery of a frustrating transfer window.

The Arsenal forward, 28, was desperate for a move to Manchester City on deadline day but it fell through when Arsene Wenger ruled there was no time to find a replacement. Instead, he will be forced to see out the final year of his contract at the Emirates.

More disappointment came when a 3-0 home defeat by Paraguay was followed by a 1-0 loss in Bolivia on Tuesday.

Having been criticised by his home media for the part he played in the nation’s downfall – Chile are sixth in qualifying with only the top four automatically going to the World Cup – he went online to air his frustrations next to a photo of him parading the Chile flag at Wembley after Arsenal’s FA Cup final victory.

“And the moment comes when you get tired,” he wrote. “Tired of them criticising you with reason or without reason. You get tired of them wanting to see you defeated. “You get tired of saying to yourself, ‘I’ll pick myself up one more time after crying after a defeat’, and you get tired of saying to the world and to the people who are against you that everything’s OK. And what’s worse is that no one ever realises how this makes you feel. “I have the Chile No7 on my back and it’s an enormous responsibility, so it makes me sad that journalists and bad people criticise without understanding.” Wenger must lift his spirits ahead of the home game against Bournemouth on Saturday as Premier League action returns, having calculated that keeping Sanchez at the club is worth more than cashing in on him, even though he can walk away for nothing next summer.

WHO HAS QUALIFIED FOR NEXT YEAR’S WORLD CUP SO FAR?