Alexis Sanchez sent a surprise message to Arsenal players after their gutsy win over West Ham.
The Gunners secured a vital three points in the top four race on Sunday as they responded to Tottenham's win over Leicester earlier in the day. Spurs had leapfrogged their city rivals into fourth place in the Premier League, but the Gunners regained the spot as Rob Holding and Gabriel sealed the 2-1 victory at the London Stadium.
it was a statement win for Mikel Arteta's men who are still in control of their own destiny as they look to qualify for the Champions League. Arsenal players clearly realised the importance of the result at full-time with wild celebrations in front of the traveling support.
Granit Xhaka echoed those sentiments by posting on his Instagram page following the game. He said: “Three BIG points – now we prepare for the next one."
And the Swiss midfielder received a message of support from an unlikely source - Alexis Sanches. The Inter Milan forward gave his best wishes to his former Arsenal teammate following the win over West Ham. Sanchez commented on his post: “Gunners” along with clapping emojis.
Sanchez was a fan favourite during his four-year spell at Arsenal between 2014 and 2018, but his exit left a bitter taste in their mouths as he joined rivals Manchester United in a swap deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
But it seems he is still rooting for his former club. Sanchez has his own fond memories of the London Stadium having scored a hat-trick on his first-ever appearance there in a 5-1 win.
Sanchez hopes the gesture might get the Arsenal fans back on side with him, similar to the turnaround that Xhaka has performed.
The midfielder has put himself in the running to be the next Arsenal captain despite being stripped of it back in 2019 as he appeared to swear at the Emirates crowd when he was booed off after being substituted midway through a game against Crystal Palace.
The 29-year-old admitted he was on the brink of leaving Arsenal as he was linked with a move to Roma, but Arteta convinced him to stay and he has now emerged as one of the players in the Gunners' leadership group - having a positive impact on and off the pitch.
Keiran Tierney and Martin Odegaard are favourites to be named the next permanent skipper, but Xhaka isn't far behind as he took the armband off the Norwegian when he was substituted against West Ham.
And Xhaka insists he is ready to take the captaincy again if called upon. "I will never say never," he told Sky Sports when asked about the Arsenal captaincy.
"I was not ready for that again. A captain of Arsenal can be without an armband and I am trying to lead the game and the players without the armband, but if tomorrow someone from the football club comes and asks if I want to take it I will be here because I know I am ready again to do it."
