By the end, Alexis Sanchez and Arsenal agreed they were better off without each other. Almost a year to the day after his acrimonious departure to Man Utd, the 30-year-old makes his first return to Emirates Stadium, with both parties desperate to prove they were right.
Sanchez came to resemble a poster-boy for the toxicity that permeated the final days of Arsene Wenger’s reign; a deeply-divisive figure whose undeniable quality became infused with a questionable attitude that led to a breakdown in professional working relations.
There were training-ground disagreements, a failure to fulfil commercial obligations and sometimes even a failure to respond to internal club emails.
Most significantly, Sanchez’s form suffered in the wake of his collapsed move to Manchester City in August 2017. But the player’s exorbitant wage demands found a perfect match five months later in United’s desire to hurt their local rivals in the transfer market when they could not on the pitch.
The cynical view held by some Arsenal fans that Sanchez had become merely a mercenary was reinforced by reports he would be paid as much as £500,000-a-week at Old Trafford, a figure which both reflected his match-winning ability but also a necessity to hit the ground running at his new club.
On his home debut against Huddersfield, Sanchez immediately set a record for the most times a United player had lost possession in a single game (35). This caused surprise in some quarters at United, but those people had not watched him closely at Arsenal.
Shortly before his move in December 2017, he gave the ball away 32 times in a 1-1 draw with Southampton, a tally only beaten once previously that season, by Sanchez himself, against United a week earlier (34).
Losing possession is an inevitable by-product of creative players trying to make something happen, but 32 appearances have yielded just four goals and six assists.
The greater freedom Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has injected into United’s play will surely play to Sanchez’s strengths, particularly if his lively 26-minute cameo against Reading in the previous round is anything to go by.
He will not lack purpose and motivation here in what is certain to be a hostile reception — something Solskjaer claimed yesterday he will “love” — at a ground where they crave signs of progress under Unai Emery.
This time last year, Sanchez and Mesut Ozil were contract rebels in arms, working in tandem to convince Arsenal they were worth new record-breaking contracts. Ozil eventually won his battle, signing a £350,000-a-week deal which heralded a landmark moment for a club previously reluctant to match the salaries of their rivals.
Yet, Ozil’s last start came on Boxing Day and with Emery set to rotate one or two players, the playmaker is likely to get some game-time this evening, be it from the outset or the bench.
Either way, the sight of both Ozil and Sanchez in their current respective predicaments is a sign of football’s capricious nature.
Ex-Gunners midfielder Emmanuel Petit imagined a conversation between the pair in the build-up to tonight’s game. “Maybe they have a good talk between them, ‘What is up, mate? When is the last time you played a football game? Are you still motivated to be a professional footballer?’” he said. “The fact [Jose] Mourinho isn’t there anymore and Sanchez isn’t injured any more, now he has to take responsibility, because since he signed for United he is not even 50 per cent close to the player he used to be for Arsenal. All of the players at United have changed all of a sudden, so why can’t he?”
The challenge for Arsenal is to replicate the intensity and purpose they showed in beating Chelsea last weekend. Sanchez, should he start as expected, will provide an immediate test for Hector Bellerin’s replacement as the Spaniard comes to terms with up to nine months out following an anterior cruciate knee ligament injury.
Emery, who admitted he tried to sign Sanchez for Paris Saint-Germain, will be wary and while veteran Stephan Lichtsteiner is one option, given United’s counter-attacking pace and verve under Solskjaer, Ainsley Maitland-Niles might be the wiser alternative.
The Gunners were highly effective in a midfield diamond and Emery has a key decision to make in whether to retain Aaron Ramsey, who shackled Jorginho so well. United do not play with the same deep-lying playmaker and so a tactical change is possible — even Solskjaer admitted he was unsure which formation Arsenal are likely to adopt.
That versatility is just one example of how Emery is trying to leave the Gunners’ past behind. Sanchez’s return would be a poignant moment to underline their progress.
