Arsene Wenger is concerned about Alexis Sanchez’s stand-off with his Arsenal team mates.
The issue was highlighted by Arsenal legend Thierry Henry who claimed there was a “divided” dressing room after Sanchez was snubbed by some of his team mates during a goal celebration.
It is understood that some of Sanchez’s team mates are not impressed by his recent performances, a perceived lack of effort in training and his conduct over his contract which is due to expire at the end of the season.
Gunners boss Wenger, who insisted after Arsenal’s win at Crystal Palace that he did not see the incident, is aware of the underlying issue and is trying to handle it before tensions get out of hand.
In fairness, Laurent Koscielny was singled out as a player who did not celebrate with Sanchez but Mirror Sport has been told that was because he wanted to congratulate Jack Wilshere on the superb ball that set up the goal.
Sanchez has never been the most popular member of the dressing room and has the ego of a big star but he has been indulged because he is a world class talent and match winner.
Chile star Sanchez, 29, who is expected to join Manchester City on a free next summer, has been in poor form before his two goals at Palace on Thursday night.
Sanchez’s dip in performances has been a major talking point among the coaches and in the dressing room and it did blow up at Southampton earlier this month.
After giving the ball away on numerous occasions, Wilshere had “words” with Sanchez on the pitch which were not caught by the TV cameras and then other players made it clear they were not happy in the dressing room after the game.
They think he has been selfish, his goal celebration - wheeling away and then beckoning team mates to join in - shows that he sees himself as the main man and that he is being disrespectful on the pitch when his performances have dropped.
Sanchez was a sore point last season when Wenger dropped him for Arsenal’s trip to Liverpool and it later emerged that came after a training ground bust-up with team mates who questioned his commitment and attitude.
Arsenal supporters went into meltdown and refused to accept the fans’ favourite was in the wrong because of his goals and assists - but his statistics in terms of running and sprints had dropped to suggest his effort and work rate had tailed off.
It is understood that has happened again in certain games recently and his effort in training has also been noticed.
While there has not been a particular row or a bust-up, Sanchez’s recent behaviour has not gone down well and he is a difficult and temperamental character who is notoriously difficult to manage.
His goals and assists - he provided the cross for Olivier Giroud’s equaliser at Southampton and scored against Liverpool on December 22 - often mask poor overall performances. He was particularly poor in those games.
Sanchez’s attitude and performances have been in marked contrast to Mesut Ozil who is also out of contract in the summer and, despite uncertainties over his future and questions raised about his form in the past, has gained respect for his recent commitment.
Arsenal turned down a £60m offer for Sanchez on transfer deadline day from Manchester City as they could not get a deal for replacement Monaco’s Thomas Lemar done in time.
They believed that Sanchez could still help them get into the Champions League but the moment Chile went out of the World Cup was a big factor as he no longer had anything to focus on next summer and no motivation to maintain his form.
Arsenal would be likely to sell Sanchez in January if they could get the right price and a replacement but City want to wait until he is a free agent and even if Paris Saint Germain bid next month they may not be able to persuade the player.
While Wenger would never admit it publicly, his pre-match comments about players being more “mean and selfish” these days as compared to when he took over 21 years ago must have at least subconsciously been referring to Sanchez.
It may be too late to fix the problem next month but, for all of his outrageous talent and world class ability, there are certain aspects of Sanchez that Arsenal will not miss when he goes.