Pros and cons of an Arsenal-Manchester City swap deal for Alexis Sanchez and Sergio Aguero

Alexis Sanchez

Alexis Sanchez was one of the Premier League’s best players and won’t play in UCL next season

“I came here to win trophies, to be competing in the Champions League semi-finals and to win the Premier League, and I feel disappointed.” – Alexis

Feeling disappointed at the end of the season has been the eternal life cycle of an Arsenal fan. Apart from the FA Cup wins, Gunners fans have resigned themselves to the fact that the club will always be a long way from competing for the Premier League title they last won in 2003/04.

The transfers of Mesut Ozil and Alexis gave them hope that other top quality players would follow them but that has sadly not been the case. Flashes of brilliance from existing players have convinced Arsene Wenger that his transfer strategy is sound but it’s far from the case as the same failings are seen every season.

Having experienced a culture of winning at the Camp Nou where failure to win titles meant a lot of introspection, Alexis finds himself in an atmosphere where even finishing second-best (in 2015/16) was seen as ‘progress’ rather than a missed opportunity.

45 - Alexis Sanchez has been directly involved in 45 goals in 51 appearances for Arsenal this season (30 goals, 15 assists). Handy.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 27, 2017

It would not be the case under Guardiola. Just finishing in the top four was seen as a failure (as it should have been) at City while at Arsenal that is the ultimate aim when the season eventually goes down the drain in February-March.

At City, Alexis would have the opportunity to actually compete for league titles and go further than the Round of 16 in the Champions League. Under Wenger, that seems like nothing more than a distant dream.