Where to start this morning… Arsene Wenger confirmed many, many good and positive things in his pre-Palace press conference, so let’s start with the most high profile one.
He confirmed that the deal with Manchester United to swap Henrikh Mkhitaryan for Alexis Sanchez is “likely to happen”, saying via The Guardian that:
“The deal can happen or it cannot happen, if it doesn’t happen he [Sanchez] could play on Saturday [v Palace], I’ve worked on transfers for 30 years, it’s likely to happen but these things are never guaranteed…”
He also denied the Armenian’s agent’s claims that Mkhitaryan’s wage demands were holding up the deal, saying they “would not be a problem…” and said if the deal falls through, Sanchez will still be available for Palace, and took part in this week’s training sessions.
He also wished Theo Walcott well on his move to Everton which was announced yesterday.
When asked about a move for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as a Sanchez replacement, Arsene Wenger was understandably reticent (via The Daily Express):
“I have nothing to add, this kind of thing is better when it is secret. You announce it when it is over the line, nothing else is close…”
So there is truth in most of the recent rumours after all, so who knows what’s going to unfold over the next few days, either way, it will be an exciting few days to be an Arsenal fan!
