Alexis Sanchez announced his arrival at Manchester United with a somewhat awkwardly-played rendition of ‘ Glory, Glory, Man Utd’ on a grand piano – they were the only right notes he was able to hit at the club.
As Manchester City were threatening to run beyond the Premier League horizon, United pipping them to Sanchez’s signature was expected to at least make the title race interesting. After-all, Mourinho coerced Sanchez to Old Trafford, despite the fact the Chilean’s former manager, Pep Guardiola, was offering him a spot at the forefront of a devastating City attack.
As Sanchez swapped Arsenal for United, misfiring United forward Henrikh Mkhitaryan moved in the other direction in a very rare swap deal between the two giants. It is a move where both clubs arguably lost.
"There are people [former club players] who have spoken with no knowledge of what happens inside the club and cause damage,” Sanchez said on Instagram, soon after his move to Old Trafford was completed. "I must say I always gave 100%, until the last day."
Sanchez has previously been linked with a move to City in the preceding summer transfer window. A £50million offer was believed to have been rejected by the Gunners in the closing stages of the summer transfer window.
Guardiola signed Sanchez for Barcelona when he was an up-and-coming star with Udinese. He went on to become a household name at the Nou Camp, contributing 46 goals and 37 assists in 141 appearances for the Catalans.
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A terrifying reunion appeared to be on the cards, and Sanchez was reported to be extremely interested in reuniting with the manager who propelled him into the footballing spotlight. However, Wenger and Arsenal resisted City’s attempts until the very end of the summer transfer window, to the dismay of Sanchez.
“Not the other players, just the team,” Wenger said when asked whether Sanchez’s speculation had affected the Gunners. “You work in a newspaper and there are periods when the atmosphere is less enjoyable than others.
“It is the lack of clarity. It is not losing players – teams are used to losing players. But it is fact that you have uncertainty in the group – that they don’t know if he will be here or not. Once it is clear the team gets used to it.”
Sanchez’s move to Manchester was granted the following January, after a relatively average start to the 2017-18 season. “Let’s not forget that if Alexis Sánchez goes, somebody else will come in who has quality as well,” Wenger said before the Chilean’s departure.
And that ‘somebody else’ was Mkhitaryan, a midfield maestro who had lost his way after a topsy-turvy debut campaign at Old Trafford. While the Armenian’s Premier League displays often left plenty to be desired, the former Borussia Dortmund ace was pivotal to United’s Europa League triumph.
While he only contributed four goals and one assist in his debut Premier League season, he scored six goals in 11 appearances as United won the Europa League in Mourinho’s first season in charge. And after Mourinho publicly admitted Mkhitaryan’s performances had “decreased step by step” the classy midfielder realised the writing is on the wall at Old Trafford.
Unfortunately, Mkhitaryan’s adaptation struggles continued at the Emirates Stadium, as he was never really able to find his groove in north London. But if Mkhitaryan was struggling to acclimatise, Sanchez was enduring an absolute nightmare at the Armenian’s former stomping ground.
An average half a season of two goals and three assists from 12 Premier League appearances, preceded a miserable campaign which saw him only find the net once in 20 appearances. Injuries and terrible inconsistency resulted in him losing his starting berth at United, before he was completely marginalised by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The Norwegian shipped him out on loan to Inter Milan in his first summer transfer window at the club. Antonio Conte’s side eventually took up the option to sign him permanently in the summer of 2020, where he continues to reside as a bit part player today.
The devastating form which saw him contribute 60 foals and 27 assists in 122 appearances for the Gunners has never been able to find the two-time Copa America winner. The pace, the power, the finishing, and the creativity appeared to have been left behind at the Emirates Stadium.
Had Mkhitaryan found those very characteristics when he arrived in north London, then Arsenal may well have been able to present themselves as the beneficiaries of this deal. Unfortunately this has not been the case. Instead, this deal is somewhat of an ‘Exhibit A’ when clubs are debating the prospect of a swap deal between clubs.
