And it wasn’t because he wanted to live in London…
Arsene Wenger has revealed why Arsenal’s stellar summer signing Alexis Sanchez chose the club over Liverpool.
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The two Premier League giants went head to head in the summer for Sanchez’s signature with the Gunners ultimately coming out on top despite Liverpool’s prior dealings with Barcelona over Luis Suarez.
Reports at the time quoted Brendan Rodgers as saying the only reason the former Barcelona man chose north London over Merseyside was due to the player and his girlfriend wishing to live in London.
However, Arsene Wenger has seemingly refuted that claim by revealing why he thinks Alexis is now an Arsenal star.
“Alexis has played in Italy, in Spain and he moved clubs – that of course helps,” the manager told the Arsenal Magazine, reports Arsenal.com.
“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.
Wenger also believes the club’s Spanish contingent which includes the likes of Mikel Arteta, Santi Cazorla and Hector Bellerin have also made the transition for Sanchez into the Premier League much easier.
“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.”