Alexis: Wenger said I was Arsenal's best player
In fact, speaking to a Chilean outlet, he claimed that Arsene Wenger wanted him to remain because the was the Gunners’ “best player”.
Speaking to Chilevision, the former Barcelona man said that: “Arsene Wenger was very fond of me. He told me ‘I want you to stay ‘cos you are the best player in this team.
“However, I wanted to grow and shine more as a Chilean. Arsène understood my decision and wished me luck. We have no ill feelings towards each other.”
Yet Raphael Honigstein has made it clear that the 29-year-old wasn’t popular at the Gunners. Speaking to the Totally Football Show podcast:
“It’s been under-reported just how badly the whole Arsenal dressing room hated Alexis Sanchez.
They really felt he was just playing up for the camera. He was doing all these things like ‘Oh, I’m trying! What are the rest of you doing?!’
Arsenal put up stats inside the dressing room after every game showing kilometers run, the passing etc… Sanchez would regularly come out with the lowest mileage – by a big distance.”