Arsene Wenger admits Arsenal's £60m Alexis Sanchez mistake
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Arsene Wenger has finally admitted he made a £60m mistake not selling Alexis Sanchez last summer.
Wenger insisted if he “had his time again” then he would have allowed Sanchez to join Manchester City after they made a mega bid on deadline day last August.
Gunners manager Wenger also claimed that Sanchez has joined Manchester United for a contract worth even MORE than £600,000-a-week.
When quizzed whether the deal was as much as the £600,000-a-week as had been reported, Wenger pointed to the ceiling as if to signify it was worth even more.
Wenger, who made the remarks during a Q&A session for the club's executive box holders, was careful not to use the word regret but suggested it was difficult to keep an unhappy player.
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(Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
It comes in the week Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez went AWOL after missing out on a move to Manchester City.
Wenger admitted that he should have sold Sanchez because his contract was running down but said he was determined to bring in a replacement and ran out of time to sign Monaco’s Thomas Lemar.
Sanchez endured an unhappy four months at Arsenal after being made to stay at the Emirates and Wenger pointed to his drop in goals and assists compared to the previous season as to why the gamble to keep him backfired.
(Image: REUTERS)
(Image: Icon Sport)
Arsenal ended up doing a swap deal with Sanchez going to Old Trafford with Henrikh Mkhitaryan moving the opposite way with both players valued at around £35m which represents a big drop since the summer.
Wenger also left the room wondering about his own future as he evaded questions as to whether he would remain in charge for the final year of his contract.
But Wenger, 68, insisted he was focused on reaching the Champions League through the Premier League and claimed it would be tough to do via the Europa League.