GREAT LEAP FORWARD
After the ‘instability’ of the Sanchez saga Gunners throw the shackles off to show there can still be a bright future ahead
THE rebuild at Arsenal will be long and bumpy but at least they can finally start thinking about the future.
In truth, it feels as if Arsenal have been stuck in limbo all season, not knowing whether their star player is coming or going or if he is going to bother trying from one game to the next.
Arsene Wenger admits the whole Alexis Sanchez saga has been “destabilising” for the club and the other players have been weighed down by “uncertainty.”
It almost felt as if the shackles came off against Crystal Palace, Arsenal played with freedom and they were determined to prove there is life after Sanchez.
Sanchez was always a difficult character, most world-class players have an ego to match and he divided the dressing room because he is a brilliant talent but was also a diva with his strops and sulks. Wenger admitted the atmosphere had suffered because Sanchez overshadowed everything and the players had been affected. When asked whether the uncertainty has upset some of the players, Wenger replied bluntly: “Yes. Not the other players, just the team.
“You work in a newspaper and there are periods when the atmosphere is less enjoyable than others. It is the lack of clarity.
“It is not losing players, teams are used to that. But it is fact you have uncertainty in the group – that they don’t know if he will be here or not. Once it is clear, the team gets used to it.
“There is always life. Arsenal Football Club is 130 years old and many big players have left. Will it go a bit less good? We will see.”
Arsenal have sold some big players in recent times with Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri going on controversial deals which left the fans in uproar for different reasons.
Van Persie because he went to Manchester United, Fabregas because it was a long, painful goodbye and Nasri jumped ship to join Manchester City for a big pay day.
This time, Wenger believes Arsenal can come out of the other side stronger because Henrikh Mkhitaryan is coming in the other direction with Arsenal convinced they can do a deal for Borussia Dortmund star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Wenger said: “We have a strong squad that does not depend on one player. Let’s not forget that if Alexis Sanchez goes, somebody else will come in who has quality as well. “It is not that we are only losing a player, we are gaining one as well. And we are still active in the transfer market and trying to bring players in. “We have tried to find the best possible solution and that is we lose a world-class player but we did not lose him without getting somebody after.” Arsenal have known they were heading for this for a long time as it was clear Sanchez did not want to re-sign and the fear was the immediate fall-out from the sale. Lose to Palace or suffer a setback and it would have turned toxic at the Emirates. The fact they blitzed Palace with four goals in the opening 22 minutes was a dream for Wenger. Nacho Monreal (above), Alex Iwobi, Laurent Koscielny and Alexandre Lacazette were on target. Monreal also provided two assists and was outstanding before hobbling off after 33 minutes. Mesut Ozil and Jack Wilshere were sublime in midfield.
Palace midfielder Luka Milivojevic got a late consolation but it was a good day for Arsenal and they really needed it.
It has been a painful time, the uncertainty has been difficult and the fans have been fed up.
But Wenger embracing Arsenal’s new behind-thescenes set-up, led by ex-Dortmund scout Sven Mislintat as their head of recruitment, has been interesting to watch.
Wenger has no intention of leaving this summer and it would need for him to be pushed and Arsenal have never done that.
He is changing to survive and that will mean rebuilding the team and the club’s structure.
He was so dismissive of a director of football and yet that role has been split and Wenger is not complaining. Mislintat also wants to go against the grain for Wenger by bring in Aubameyang despite his bad-boy reputation. But the one area of doubt is Ozil who is out of contract in the summer and Arsenal have not given up on re-signing him. However, Wenger insists Ozil's uncertainty is different to Sanchez. Wenger was less optimistic than recently about Ozil but added: "He will be here until the end the of season for sure. After wards it depends if we find an agreement or not.”