Arsène Wenger has confirmed Alexis Sánchez will be available for the FA Cup final, despite regulations that give Chile permission to call up the forward to prepare for the Copa América which begins on 11 June. The competition, which Chile host, starts less than two weeks after Arsenal’s date with Aston Villa at Wembley, which takes place on 30 May.
“We got an agreement they won’t call him,” said Wenger. “They could call him up. Anyway, I am sure he would not go!”
It could be a thorny issue for any South American players who qualify for the Champions League final, which is played on 6 June. Fifa rules require clubs to release their players 14 days before the start of an international tournament, so some manoeuvring may well be required for the likes of Neymar at Barcelona, James Rodríguez of Real Madrid, Arturo Vidal of Juventus and Bayern Munich’s Dante.
Wenger has noted that Sánchez, Arsenal’s top scorer this campaign, could miss the start of next season if Chile progress in the Copa América. The final will be played on 4 July, just over a month before the opening weekend of the next Premier League season. Wenger insists on giving all players at least one month’s holiday, before they commence pre-season training. “It’s not good news because they finish very late and if Chile go very far he will miss the start of the season,” said Wenger.
Chile have never won the Copa América, and last reached the final in the year after Sánchez was born. The Arsenal attacker is the third most capped Chilean player of all time, and ranks fourth in their goalscoring charts, 11 goals behind record holder Marcelo Salas.