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Alexis Sanchez's Arsenal future in doubt again after he is ruled out of Leicester game
Alexis Sanchez will miss Arsenal's curtain-raiser with Leicester to cast fresh doubt over his future.
The Chilean striker, who has just returned to training after an extended summer break, is facing a spell out with an abdominal strain.
Sanchez has been tipped to leave Arsenal after refusing to sign a new deal as he heads into the final 12 months of his contract.
And his latest injury absence, after initially having been sidelined with a bout of flu, his latest absence will raise eyebrows at the Emirates.
"Sanchez will not be available," said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
"He had a little abdominal strain that he caught on Sunday morning in training. He had the scan two days ago. He's out for I don't know. It is for two weeks or one more week, but he will not be available."
Manchester City is believed to be Sanchez's preferred destination, with French side Paris Saint-Germain still a potential option despite their world record signing of Neymar.
Asked about Sanchez's state of mind, Wenger said: "He is focused. When you have treatment on the medical bench, it's not easy. For us Alexis Sanchez is a loss, of course. But we have all the other players prepared in pre-season and they are all ready.
"It can happen in pre-season and anyway, I don’t think I would have included him on Friday night. I don’t think I would have started him."
Wenger insisted once again that Arsenal have no interest in selling and added: "We are not open to any offers. When a player goes into the final year of their contract, we will try to extend the contract as there's no reason we shouldn't do. But we are not there yet."
Arsenal finished fifth in the Premier League last season and a whopping 18 points off champions Chelsea. But Wenger, who is not expecting a repeat, said: "We made 75 points, maybe four points more than the season before, but we have to do more.
"The target is very difficult to set. Let's just focus on us, our ability and go into the games with the desire to win every game. What is needed? I don't know."
Sanchez is not the only player whose future remains up in the air. Back-up goalkeeper David Ospina, wanted by Turkish club Besiktas, was expected to leave but remains in north London.
Wenger has now offered the Colombian fresh hope after stopping short of backing Petr Cech as his No.1.
"It was not easy, because of course all these players want to play," added Wenger.
"They are top level players, they want to go to the World Cup but he will get a number of games here and he will fight with Petr Cech.
"The fight is quite open. At the moment I play Petr Cech but this battle is not won definitely by Petr Cech because I rate Ospina highly and anyway, we play other competitions and he will play."
Wenger also confirmed that Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and Per Mertesacker are all facing a race to be fit in time to face Leicester.
