Alexis Sanchez was unable to engineer a move away from Arsenal in the summer, but his teammate Nacho Monreal feels that the Chilean won’t let past events prevent the winger from playing his best for the Gunners this season.
“It’s good news for Arsenal in general, for the fans, for the players, for the club in general that Alexis is staying here,” Monreal said in a club interview.
Since moving to North London from Barcelona in 2011, Sanchez quickly established himself as one of the Premier League’s finest players, combining excellent work rate with unmatched quality.
“He’s (Sanchez) the most important player for us,” Monreal gushed.
Arsenal finished a lowly fifth last season and their current campaign has begun in disastrous fashion, with the Gunners losing two of their opening three games.
Disgruntled fans have called for manager Arsene Wenger to resign but Monreal stressed that the desire to improve in their current squad is still there and they will try their best to get positive results.
“All we can offer to the fans is that in the next game, from the first minute, we start with intensity, make a good game, get the three points and everything will come back as before,” the 31-year-old Spaniard said.
Sanchez started in Arsenal’s calamitous 4-0 loss at the hands of Liverpool, the last game before the international break, and the Chilean’s body language suggested that he was ready to throw in the towel and leave the Emirates.
With City hovering, it seemed only a matter of time before the 28-year-old left for Manchester, but Arsenal refused to accept the bid from the Sky Blues.
And many fans feared that the winger would focus on securing a move in January and not be bothered with playing for the Gunners.
Monreal disagreed with that thought for he asserted, “Alexis is very competitive. He doesn’t want to lose any sport. He’s always trying to win, he always gives his maximum, 100 per cent effort in every single training session”.
“He’s going to be very important for us for the rest of the season,” Monreal said as he signed off.
Arsenal host struggling Bournemouth on Saturday, with both sides desperate for a win and it remains to be seen whether Monreal’s words will prove true.