Alexis Sanchez’s Arsenal benching at Liverpool explained

Rob McCarthy
Alexis Sanchez: Arsenal future is now in question

Alexis Sanchez’s future at Arsenal is in doubt after it was reported that he had a ‘bust-up’ with team-mates prior to the defeat at Liverpool on Saturday.

The Chile forward found himself on the bench for the game at Anfield, which Liverpool won 3-1, leaving the Gunners in fifth place in the table and out of the Champions League spots.

Arsenal fans were left stunned by the decision of under-pressure boss Arsene Wenger to omit Sanchez, who came on as a half-time substitute to set up Danny Welbeck’s strike, but the damage had been done by the interval as the Reds built up a two-goal lead.

The Daily Mirror claims that Wenger and Sanchez have had a series of rows and that the Frenchman’s ‘patience’ finally snapped after the 28-year-old’s attitude and performance was questioned since the Champions League mauling at Bayern Munich.

It is claimed that Wenger labelled Sanchez ‘selfish’, and that his behaviour has been ‘affecting the rest of the squad’.

The Daily Telegraph also reported that Sanchez ‘walked out of training and was involved in a furious bust-up with angry team-mates’ during the build-up to the game at Anfield.

It is claimed that a number of Arsenal players ‘confronted him in the changing room’ after the Chilean, whose contract runs out in the summer of next year, stormed off during a training session.

It would now seem that Sanchez’s future at Arsenal largely depends on whether Wenger is still at the club next year, but one thing is for the sure the Arsenal fans will be split by these latest revelations.