Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger expects
Alexis Sanchez to “respect” his decision not
to allow the Chilean forward to leave the
club, he said on Thursday.
“I will not give anything away on (Sanchez),
but the only thing I can tell you is that he is
focused and my decision is clear: he will stay
and he will respect that,” Wenger told
reporters.
“It is as simple as that.”
Sanchez, 28, has been linked with a move
away from Arsenal during the close season,
with Manchester City and Paris Saint-
Germain reported to be among his suitors.
He was given an extended break after
playing for Chile at the Confederations Cup in
Russia and his return was delayed last
weekend due to illness. Having eventually
returned on Tuesday, he took part in an
open training session at the Emirates
Stadium on Thursday ahead of Sunday’s
Community Shield showdown with Chelsea
at Wembley.
With Sanchez’s Arsenal contract set to expire
next year, the speculation about his future
will not go away, but Wenger refused to
divulge information about the contract talks.
“Every negotiation has to be a little bit
secret,” Wenger said during a press
conference.
“The transparency of society is very pushy,
but we have to resist a little bit, as much as
we can.
“We know as well we have a duty to inform
people, but to talk about some things is not
information any more — it is suicide.
“I think he will be here this season and if we
can do it for more seasons, we will do it as
well.”
Wenger said there was “nothing to
announce” regarding the futures of Mesut
Ozil, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jack Wilshere
and Kieran Gibbs, who are also out of
contract next year.
But he did say that he expects Spanish
striker Lucas Perez to leave after a
frustrating debut season. Perez joined
Arsenal from Deportivo La Coruna a year
ago, but barely featured last season and
now faces extra competition from star
signing Alexandre Lacazette.
Asked if Perez’s future lay elsewhere,
Wenger replied: “Yes, because we have a
congestion of strikers.
“I don’t like to lose him because, for me, he’s
a top-quality striker, but we have many
strikers. At some stage, too much
competition is not competition any more.
“You cannot give the chance to everybody,
so if he finds a satisfying solution at least for
a short time, he will do it.”
Sanchez, Wilshere and Shkodran Mustafi are
all short of fitness, having only just returned
to training. Francis Coquelin will definitely
miss out against Chelsea after hurting his
ankle in Arsenal’s friendly against Benfica,
while Gabriel and Santi Cazorla are long-term
absentees.
But Lacazette and fellow new signing Sead
Kolasinac are both expected to feature
against the Premier League champions.
