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Man Utd vs Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez may not travel to Manchester despite being in 'good shape'
Alexis Sanchez has told Arsene Wenger that he is in “good shape” ahead of Saturday’s match against Manchester United but the Arsenal manager remains unsure whether he will even take his star striker to Old Trafford after he played for Chile on Tuesday night.
Arsenal are currently without Hector Bellerin for the next four weeks while, worryingly, there is no timescale on the return of Santi Cazorla amid an Achilles tendon injury.
Wenger, then, is concerned about risking Sanchez after he played on Tuesday in South America following a small hamstring tear but will wait until after training on Thursday before making a final decision.
“We were in doubt 24 hours before the game against Uruguay; we didn’t know if he’d play or not,” said Wenger. “In the end they decided to play him. He texted us to tell us he’s in good shape after the game. He came off after 84 minutes and now we have to wait. I see him tomorrow morning and then I will see if he can be involved in the squad or not.
“What I will consider is the risk of injury because he played while recovering from a hamstring injury. I’ll consider the way he feels as well. On that front you depend on the honesty of the player, how they feel and how they recover.
“It’s very difficult to make a definite assessment because I don’t know how bad his injury was. I completely understand that Alexis wanted to play for his country in such an important game.”
Wenger lost Sanchez for two months last season after playing him against Norwich City despite a tight hamstring and knows that this is a risky period.
“It’s a difficult period in November because it’s the first time when some of the players have played many games,” he said. “Most of the time it’s a decisive period in the Champions League. In the Premier League, the first decisive games are also coming up so you have to pay a price. We lost important players in November for long periods last year.” Wenger said that Bellerin had been injured by what he called a “very strong” Danny Rose tackle in the last seconds of the 1-1 draw against Tottenham.
Arsenal have not beaten Manchester United in the league at Old Trafford for more than 10 years, while Wenger has never defeated Jose Mourinho in a league game but claimed that their personal history will not be relevant on Saturday.
He also said that he will shake Mourinho’s hand after shunning him last season. “I don’t think I have to describe our relationship. He will fight for his team and I will fight for my team and I think that’s completely normal,” he said. “Of course [I will sake hands]. I respect the ritual that is so important in the Premier League.
“We have beaten them and there was many draws as well. I think I have won against every manager in the world during my 20 years here and I do not make of this game a competition between two managers. It’s between two clubs and two teams and I think I can understand that people want to create controversy, but it’s not that that makes the audience.
“What will make the audience is the quality of the game and we have seen a few games since the start of the season we didn’t respond completely to the expectation level between two big teams and I think it’s important that it’s a top level game because that will be watched all over the world and for the reputation of the Premier League, it’s important that the quality of the game is good. That will be down to the players who are on the pitch.”