Arsene Wenger focused on the ‘short term’ as Alexis Sanchez shines for Arsenal amid transfer uncertainty

Arsene Wenger insists Alexis Sanchez is still ready to fight for Arsenal after returning to form in the Gunners’ 3-2 win at Crystal Palace.

Sanchez scored twice as Arsenal claimed just their third away win of the Premier League season, with the Chilean putting in perhaps his best display of the season.

A bewitching tyro from the first minute to the last Sanchez looked an utterly transformed player from the man who has so often cut a diffident figure since the double blow of missing out on a move to Manchester City and seeing Chile fail to qualify for the World Cup earlier this year.

Inevitably talk turned to his future – with the Chilean free to sign a pre-contract agreement with sides outside England from Monday – a topic which is provoking increasingly testy responses from Wenger.

“Nobody knows really what will happen,” the Arsenal manager said. “It’s always difficult to speculate.

“At the moment we are focused on short-term. Short-term is to win the next game with the players who are committed and ready to fight.

“It’s not a guarantee of how long you will stay somewhere. As long as you are somewhere you give your best.

“Every press conference is a psychological problem. To talk about football would be better. I’m not here to talk about psychology. I’m here to talk about the game.”

Asked whether he would consider letting Sanchez leave in January Wenger tersely replied: “I’ve just answered the question.”

Wenger, who responded to questions over Sanchez being spotted in a Paris airport by saying the forward had been visiting family, added: “I felt [Sanchez] was very good tonight. From the first minute on he was focused, simple again.

“This kind of Sanchez is a great football player as we know him. That’s the kind of performance you want from him.”

Sanchez was not the only player to shine as Arsenal put in their best display in several weeks. They should have led by more than Shkodran Mustafi’s opener by the interval and it seemed they would be punished when Andros Townsend struck early in the second period.

But Sanchez’s double strike, the second from a brilliant Jack Wilshere assist, meant even James Tomkins’ header was not enough to rescue a point for Palace.

“It was a good, positive performance,” Wenger said. “We controlled the game. It should have been a bit more than 1-0 at half-time, you know at some stage a home team that fights against relegation will come at you.

“We have shown resources and character. At 3-2 we became a bit nervy again and we finished in a less controlled way. But overall it was a good team performance.”