Arsene Wenger said he was sure Alexis Sanchez would have no problem facing Manchester City.
But the Arsenal manager was speaking more in hope than expectation, as Sanchez fell flat against the club he was desperate to join last summer.
Sanchez’s proposed £60million move to City fell through late on deadline day and yesterday he showed just how much he is still brooding over that missed opportunity.
Preferred to lead the line ahead of Arsenal’s record £52m signing Alexandre Lacazette, Wenger put his faith in Sanchez to go out and prove his pre-match claim.
At his very best, Sanchez is unplayable, a match-winner of rare gifts, which is why City, even with such a gilded squad already at ther disposal, did all they could to land him.
But at times here it seemed as if Sanchez was trying too hard to impress, to show City and their fans just what they missed out on when his move collapsed.
Yet that desire to prove himself, on what amounted to a huge test of his mental resolve, served only to rob Sanchez of his natural ebullience and verve.
Wenger, typically, was full of praise for the 28-year-old, while acknowledging the struggles Sanchez faced, not least having little service up front on his own.
“In a difficult moment of the game he did very well,” said Wenger. “He was on his own up front in the first-half but didn’t have enough support.
“Overall I think he has done everything. It was a huge mental test, but I had no doubt about him before the game. He’s focused and wants to win. He had a good performance.”
Pep Guardiola talked of Sanchez giving his side a “headache” at times, but the reality is that City had little trouble containing the threat of Arsenal’s most dangerous player.
Sanchez may yet get his wish and join Guardiola’s side next summer, when he will be a free agent, but with City so rampant right now, it is hard to see where he would fit in.