No matter what your opinion is of Arsene Wenger, it’s probably mostly negative at the moment, there is no denying he is a very intelligent man.
He knew that not starting Alexis Sanchez against Liverpool would invite criticism at a time when he is already being crucified more than at any point in his 20 year tenure.
He had been honest about our poor mentality in the ‘big games’ away from home, he knew we were not going to Anfield in form and he was aware that many of the squad had lost confidence as they often do this time of year.
He realized the magnitude of the game, that defeat would put us outside of the top four places and indeed could be a result that proves vital when determining if we will play Champions League Football next season.
He was effectively voluntarily giving ammunition for Talk Sport and Arsenal Fan TV to shoot him with.
If anything, the Frenchmen has been guilty in the past of over playing the Chilean, refusing to give him a rest even when an ideal time arises. Even at Sutton he felt obliged to give him a run out.
The point I’m getting at is our best player does not sit on the bench at Liverpool unless there’s a big reason. Even if you went along with this idea that playing Olivier Giroud would allow us to be more direct, that doesn’t explain why Sanchez couldn’t have started instead of Alex Iwobi
I didn’t need Sundays rumors to convince me. As soon as I saw the team sheet on Saturday, it confirmed what most Gunners fans have feared for months; Sanchez is just counting down the days on his contract.
To be fair, when Sanchez came on, he didn’t sulk, he tried to make his point the right way and no fan can ever accuse him of not giving 100% effort when he is on the pitch.
However, professionalism is also measured in other ways too. Purely based on performances by an emotional crowd, most fans, I feel, will favour the player over manager in any dispute at the moment but if we take our bias out of it, the truth is the warning signs have been there since Christmas.
Perhaps realizing he’s not going to get the salary increase he wants at the Emirates, we’ve seen a lot of signs of discontent from Alexis. We’ve seen gloves being thrown on the floor, shrugging of shoulders, him yelling at his team mates and his refusal to thank the away crowd.
Just because he is clearly one of the few world-class players we have does not make him bigger then the club. In over two decades, a top-level manager Arsene Wenger has worked with better players then Sanchez and has to withhold the same principles for everyone, no matter how many goals they are scoring.
Even in Thierry Henry’s final few months, Wenger was aware it was the right time to sell as Henry’s status undermined the development of the youngsters breaking in.
There is nothing wrong with Sanchez loving to win but in that performance against Chelsea, the way we gave up in Munich, our arrogance against Watford, Sanchez was apart of the team too. As much as the fashionable thing is to question Mesut Ozil, given his price tag, should we not do the same towards Sanchez?
Because if he is, behind close doors, not supporting his co-workers, making it obvious he’s not happy and coming across as he’s better than everyone else, is that not just as bad as someone who has simply lost their form?
If Sanchez were not acting like a diva would our form not come back quicker? Would players be more likely to believe in themselves if Sanchez encouraged them like he used to? Should he not be a leader off the field in our hour of need instead of making it about himself?
We are Arsenal Football Club, if you don’t want to wear the red and white shirt then leave. That stance has been lost over the years, the pride needs to be put back into the club. Wenger at least tried to do that this week.
