The Alexis Sánchez saga at Arsenal appears to be heading towards an explosive end. That’s the story out of North London this week, as the Chilean forward reportedly got into a tussle with his teammates prior to their 3-1 loss against Liverpool on Saturday. The Guardian is reporting that the reason for Alexis being dropped from the starting lineup before the key matchup against the Reds was that he walked out of training following that heated argument. No reports have come out yet as to which players he was feuding with, but it’s another in a worrying trend of frustrations for the former Barcelona man.
Alexis would go on to feature in the Liverpool game, coming in as a substitute at halftime, but his presence was not enough to get Arsenal back into the game. The Gunners now sit in 5th place in the Premier League table, and one can only imagine the turmoil headed to North London if they were to miss out on Champions League play for next year.
Of course, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger assured the media on Monday that the reports are false, and that it was a tactical decision to not play Alexis, one of the better attackers in the world, against Liverpool, who have one of the worst defenses in the Premier League. Wenger also went on to wax philosophical about what makes a player happy, saying that “the definition of a happy person is very difficult. I never found the ideal one. On the football front, it is to play well and win. I hope he is happy tomorrow.”
While that might try to paper over the cracks of his relationship with the Chilean, one thing is certain: the rumors that Alexis is on his way out of the Emirates this summer will only get louder with each benching, outburst, and report that Juventus really really want him.