SO GLAD WE GOT SANCHEZ!
Wenger knows beating Liverpool to star man changed their seasons
ARSENE WENGER might feel like his judgment has been criticised at every turn in recent weeks but no one has dared to doubt the value of his swoop to beat Liverpool to the signing of Alexis Sanchez.
With 14 goals in 24 games since his £ 3 0 mil li o n move from Barcelona, Sanchez has often seemed like the only thing separating Arsenal’s depleted side from the mid-table ordinariness which has plagued Brendan Rodgers since the exit of Luis Suarez.
How the teams would have coped i f the Chilean had opted f or Merseyside i nstead of North London will never be known, and Wenger was taking no chances as he turned on the charm during the World Cup, stressing key factors like Arsenal’s style of play and their c ontinuous presence in t he Champions League.
Later, he became conscious that Liverpool might steal an edge as they went deeper into the Suarez deal with Barcelona.
‘I thought Liverpool was a serious candidate because they had Suarez going there,’ said Wenger. ‘You could think that’s an easy way to do the deal. It could happen. But, at the end of the day, every great player today has a choice to go where he wants to go. He has chosen us and we are very happy for that.
‘There were other clubs in for him as well. Transfers at that level always take time to get every detail right, so you think always that somebody else can come in, like Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich, to do the deal as well.’
Wenger, who was at the World Cup working f or television, added: ‘ I met his agent in Brazil a few times and we could talk about the transfer. I just tried, like every manager, to convince the player that you can help him develop the quality of his game and that the way we play f ootball would suit him.
‘ I think that’s why he has chosen us in the end. As well, we have continuity. All t he pl ay e r s want to play in the Champions League. It’s quite simple and we have good continuity on that front.’
Gary Neville claimed earlier this season that Sanchez would have been the ‘ideal replacement’ for Suarez, who scored 31 goals as Liverpool finished runners-up in the Barclays Premier League last season and cost Barcelona £75m.
Having missed Sanchez, Liverpool turned to Mario Balotelli, who has yet to score since his £16m move from AC Milan. After returning from injury, he will miss tomorrow’s game as he serves a one-match ban for a racially offensive Instagram post featuring Super Mario.
With Daniel Sturridge injured, Wenger does not fear a repeat of his last trip to Anfield, in February, when his team were four down after 20 minutes and lost 5-1.
‘Liverpool scored over 100 goals last season in the Premier League and they were very good going forward,’ said the Arsenal boss. ‘This season they’ve scored 19, so they are not on the same trend offensively. They started off the blocks very strong that day and we were too late to get into the game.
‘Every defeat hurts. Every defeat is a scar in your heart forever. We also have very good memories at Liverpool. We won many games at Liverpool. Even last year, after we lost against them, a week later against the same team we won 2-0 at home in the FA Cup.’
Despite Liverpool’s problems, Wenger refused to rule them out of a top-four finish and was wary of wading into the Balotelli debate.
‘He is a very sensitive subject,’ smiled the Arsenal boss. Why? ‘ Because it i s an i nteresting subject.’ Another wry smile, then he added: ‘I don’t know him at all.’
This hardly solved the enigma, but Wenger was more emphatic as he tried to quash the idea that he has also considered signing Balotelli last summer. ‘ No, you linked him with me,’ he told reporters. ‘We have the type of presence up front with Olivier Giroud and Yaya Sanogo. We have players of that calibre.’ Sanchez (below) has gone two games without a goal for the first time since September and Arsenal will try to protect him through his first experience of the packed f estive schedule, even though he has adapted well to the Premier League. ‘It looks like he is made for t he English game,’ said Wenger. ‘ He’s settled very quickly, but Sanchez has a kind of game that is i nstinctive and tough. ‘ Last y e ar, we were interested in Suarez and they have similarities. They are South Americans, both provocative players, who run with the ball. They are very determined as well. ‘But the history of every big club is made up of many big players that you missed. I wanted to play Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka together. Maybe if Anelka had stayed Henry would not have become the player he became. Sometimes it’s coincidence
that decides your destiny.’