Manchester United forward Alexis Sanchez has hit out at reports about his poor professionalism and apologised to fans for his disappointing spell at the club so far.
Arsenal supporters may feel as though they have heard it all before from the Chilean, who went to great lengths to position himself as a fan favourite during his time at the Emirates, both through his relentless style of play and social media messages.
However, he was quick to jump ship in Arsene Wenger's final season after a downturn in form, and after failing to impress for United over the last 18 months it has become clear that Sanchez was at fault for his performance levels, rather than Arsenal.
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The 30-year-old became one of the highest-paid players in world football went he swapped the Gunners for United in 2018, with the club swapping him for Henrikh Mkhitaryan and paying no transfer fee.
Instead of getting a bargain, the winger demanded a far higher wage deal which has reportedly unsettled the wage structure in Manchester.
He has looked nothing like the player that Arsenal fans remember at his best when he could be an explosive match-winner, playing out wide or through the middle.
At United, he has move often than not looked off-the-pace and incapable of producing the basics, let alone get a grip of games in the way he used to be capable of doing on a fairly regular basis.
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In a message on Instagram, Sanchez tried to explain his difficulties this season at Old Trafford after having missed out on United's embaressing 2-0 loss to Cardiff City on the final weekend of the season.
"It was a very tough season," he wrote. "The fan are the ones who deserve an apology as they always support you no matter what happens.
"Personally, I didn’t perform as much as I was expecting because of unpredictable injuries.
"Press and people were speculating of things that were not even true. I was always a professional in all aspects.
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"I apologise to the fans for not be able to achieve our goals. Nevertheless we are Manchester United!
"Players and staff are questioning if we were doing the right thing and if we were giving our best for this football shirt.
"I'm certain that Manchester United one day will return to be the club, as it was in the old days with Mr Alex Ferguson."
In the same window that Arsenal sent Sanchez up to Manchester, the club signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
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Their 4-1 win over Burnley on the final day of the Premier League season saw the Gabonese striker score his 22nd league goal of the campaign to become the co-winner of the Golden Boot with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
Unai Emery's side could still win silverware this season too with Arsenal set to play Chelsea in the Europa League final in Baku later this month.
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