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Wenger: Sanchez Really Wanted To Join Arsenal Over Other Clubs

By on February 18, 2015

Arsene Wenger has spilled the beans on why Alexis Sanchez has settled so quickly at Arsenal since making his big-money move from Barcelona in the summer.

The Chilean super star has been a sensation at the Emirates, scoring 18 goals in all competitions so far and has become a focal point of our attack this season.

Sometimes it takes foreign players some time to adjust to life in England, so the rate at which Sanchez has settled here has taken some by surprise.

However, Wenger believes the fact he’s already had experience at adjusting to life in both Italy and Spain with previous clubs has helped Sanchez make the transition in North London.

The Gunners boss also claimed that the players decision to turn down other clubs and join Arsenal shows a real desire to play for us, which comes through in his performances on the pitch.

Arsene told Arsenal.com:

“Alexis has played in Italy, in Spain and he moved clubs – that of course helps,”

“The second part is that the move is a reward for what he really wanted.”

“Alexis had a few options and he chose us because he felt that’s where he wanted to go. Sometimes a player moves somewhere and it’s not the choice that he deeply wanted. In his case, I think he really wanted to join us.”

“On the pitch, the player has his needs. I felt that he came into a team that plays in an [attacking] way, where he can express his talent with freedom. It works out well for him. That helps.”

“After, another step is that a team welcomes you with the values that you rate, and that in some parts of the team, you can feel at home when you need it sometimes.”

“That means there are people inside the squad with a similar culture. For example we have plenty of Spanish-speaking people and I believe that helps to integrate people well.”

The main rival for Sanchez’s signature last summer was Liverpool and at one point the Merseysiders thought they had wrapped up his signature before he eventually signed for us.

There are many rumours why he ended up choosing Arsenal, and Liverpool fans still claim he wanted to move to Anfield but his then-girlfriend persuaded him to join us because she wanted to live in London, but hopefully Wenger’s comments will put that ridiculous story to bed now.

I personally couldn’t care less why he joined us, the simple fact is Sanchez is an Arsenal player and he’s the most exciting attacker we’ve had since Thierry.