Arsene Wenger has no doubts over Alexis Sanchez’s state of mind ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League clash with Bournemouth on Saturday, despite a recent outburst on Instagram.
The Chilean was denied a deadline day move to Manchester City in spite of Arsenal receiving an enormous offer, with the north London club feeling they lacked the time needed to complete a deal for his potential replacement, Thomas Lemar.
That misery was compounded by Chile’s defeat to Bolivia in La Paz, which has given La Roja a mountain to climb if they want to qualify for the World Cup next summer.
Afterwards, Sanchez took to Instagram to complain that he was ‘tired of being criticised’, but Wenger has no doubts that he will be back to his usual self and ready to contribute in the Premier League this weekend.
Asked if Sanchez was in a good state of mind, Wenger told reporters on Thursday: ‘Yes of course. I have no doubts about Alexis’ mind and mentality, that people question.’
‘I think that he needs to come back to full fitness. He was not at Liverpool, it was his first game, he had a negative experience with Chile but he has a strong mentality and hopefully will be back to his best.
On how Sanchez reacted to his failed transfer to City, he added: ‘I believe that the transfer market is over. There was a lot going on on that front. It is very difficult for me to speak about that.’
Sanchez and several other international stars will be assessed when they return to training on Thursday, with Wenger able to name a full-strength squad to take on Bournemouth.
‘We don’t know yet. Sanchez, [David] Ospina, [Aaron] Ramsey, they are coming back today. We’ll see, we’ll check that all along the day.
‘I think we have no injuries. Everybody is looking to come back quite well, [Jack] Wilshere is getting stronger every day. Overall we have no big injury problems.’
MORE : Alexis Sanchez ‘tired of being criticised’ after Chile defeat in World Cup qualifying
MORE : Arsene Wenger reveals who will replace Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in Arsenal squad
Share this with