Wenger tells Sanchez to prepare for new season with Arsenal

Arsene Wenger has reiterated Alexis Sanchez will not be sold this summer and has told the Chile international to get his head prepared for next season with Arsenal.

Sanchez has entered the final 12 months of his existing Arsenal deal and wants to reunite with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City in order to play Champions League football.

The Chile international returned to full Arsenal training with the rest of his team-mates on Thursday and is available for selection ahead of Sunday’s encounter with Premier League champions Chelsea in the Community Shield.

Sanchez is expected to feature against Chelsea and Wenger insists that will not be his last game for the club, ruling out his departure once and for all.

“I will not give anything away on that but the only thing I can tell you is that he is focused, and my decision is clear: he will stay and he will respect that. It is as simple as that,” The Daily Telegraph quote Wenger as saying at a press conference when discussing Sanchez’s future.

Other than shattering their club transfer record to sign Alexandre Lacazette, Arsenal have struggled to make any serious headway in the transfer window this summer. Keeping Sanchez would be a huge boost for Wenger, if you ignore the fact they run the risk of him leaving for nothing next summer.

In the Premier League last season, only Harry Kane (36) scored or assisted more goals than the Arsenal No.7 (34), while only Eden Hazard (7.81) secured a higher WhoScored rating (Sanchez – 7.76).