adminLONDON. – Arsene Wenger says Alexis Sanchez will respect Arsenal’s decision to hold him to the final year of his contract and said it would be “suicide” to say any more on the subject. And the Gunners boss is refusing to rule out the Chilean penning a contract extension at the Emirates. The Chile international appeared in front of 5 000 fans at the Emirates Stadium yesterday as part of an open training day, but speculation over his future continues to dominate Arsenal’s pre-season preparations.
Despite the risk of losing him for nothing when his contract expires next year, Wenger reiterated his intention to hold on to Sanchez and also said the club will continue in their attempts to convince him to sign an extension.
Sanchez returned to training this week after an extended break in the wake of Chile’s Confederations Cup campaign and a bout of flu and, according to Wenger, “looked like he has never been away”.
And the Gunners boss is not budging from his stance that last season’s top scorer will be at the club this season, even if there is no progress on an extension to his deal. Asked whether Sanchez had asked to leave amid reported interest this summer from Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, Wenger said: “I will not give you anything on that.
“He is focused. My decision is clear – he will stay and he will respect that. It’s as simple as that. I think he will be here for this season. If we manage to do it for more seasons we will.”
Despite only being in training for a couple of days, Wenger even suggested Sanchez could feature at Wembley.
Should he not make the curtain-raiser, the 28-year-old is set to be involved in the Premier League opener against Leicester.
Wenger has yet to decide whether to use Sanchez in Sunday’s Community Shield against Chelsea at Wembley.
The Frenchman said: “He rest needs to work on his fitness, but once he’s in the game he’s sharp and looks like he’s never been away. He’s over the flu, and that was never a problem for us.
“The frame of mind of a football player is quite easy – once you go out and play you enjoy the game. This passes quickly so enjoy every moment. He loves so much the game and what he does.”
Pushed for further detail, he said: “That is again something that I do not want to come back on. Every negotiation has to be a little bit secret. The transparency of society is very pushy but we have to resist a little bit, as much as we can.’’ – Sky Sports.
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter