The future of Alexis Sanchez at Arsenal is still in doubt with his manager Arsene Wenger admitting he is no nearer to establishing if the Chilean striker will be at the club come the end of the season.
Sanchez’s commitment to the north London side has come into question this season after his failure to reach agreement about an extension to his current contract that expires in the summer.
But Wenger, who has now equalled Manchester United legend Alex Ferguson’s Premier League record of 810 matches in charge, was full of praise for the 29-year-old after he scored two goals in Arsenal’s 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace on Thursday.
The Frenchman believes the player’s performance at Selhurst Park showed there has been no let up in the player’s effort, but with the January transfer window about to open, has no idea about the player’s next move.
“First of all nobody knows what will happen really,” he said. “It’s difficult to speculate. At the moment we are focused on the short-term, that means the next game with the players committed and ready to fight.
“It’s not a guarantee of how long you stay somewhere. As long as you are somewhere, you give your best. I felt he was very good tonight from the first minute on, focused on the game. This kind of Sanchez is a great football player, as we know. That’s the kind of performance we want from him.
“I am not fearful but that will be a subject that arises because of his contractual situation,” he added.
Sanchez scored his first in the 62nd minute and his second four minutes later, after Andros Townsend had canceled out Shkodran Mustafi’s first-half opener, but not all his teammates celebrated his goals with him.
Adding to Wenger’s woe is the ongoing speculation surrounding Jack Wilshere, who put in a man of the match performance against Palace. The midfielder is also in the final year of his contract and Wenger believes he too showed he has the commitment necessary.
“They are questioned, always, when people don’t have long contracts,” Wenger said. “The best way to show they are committed is to give that kind of performance. Jack is coming back into competitive shape. He gives something to the team at the moment, and gave a good final ball for the third goal.”
Wenger said Arsenal and Wilshere are due to open talks in January. “The situation is that we need to sit down with him. Beginning of January, it’s planned. There is no delay.
“I said we would sort out his situation in December, end of December, and so I told him we want to meet and sit down with him to talk about the future.
“He did well to calm down at half-time to make sure any injustice he might have felt was channelled into his performance.”
Alexis Sanchez's Arsenal future is still in doubt
Alexis Sanchez's Arsenal future is still in doubt
