It appears increasingly likely that Alexis Sanchez will leave Arsenal in the summer.
According to the Daily Mail, the Chilean stormed off Arsenal’s training pitch in the build-up to Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Liverpool, a game in which Sanchez started on the bench.
The 28-year-old’s relationship with his teammates is also strained. Sanchez berated his fellow players during Arsenal’s 5-1 defeat to Bayern Munich last month and his frustrations boiled over into the dressing room afterwards.
Some players responded to Sanchez’s premature exit from training by confronting him.
Arsenal’s current form is unlikely to turn Sanchez’s head. The defeat to Liverpool leaves them outside the top four and the Gunners look set to exit the Champions League at the last-16 for the seventh straight year.
Wright: I'd leave if I was Sanchez
Arsenal hero Ian Wright is in no doubt about what the former Barcelona player should do next. Though it likely pains him to say it, Wright admits he would probably leave the Emirates Stadium if he were in Sanchez’s position.
"It's a shame simply because he is Arsenal's best player. He is a player that Arsenal need desperately to be there," Wright said on BBC Radio 5 live.
"I'm not sure if money is going to keep him there at the moment because if he's storming out of training and not playing in games...
"If I was him, I'd probably want to leave as well because what's happening with Arsenal right now is not what he came to Arsenal for, especially not being in the top four."
Contract talks have reached an impasse
The extent of Arsenal’s problems with Sanchez has been revealed by the Evening Standard’s James Olley.
Olley claims the Gunners haven’t offered the winger a new contract for several weeks ‘as a result of the souring relationship between player and club.’
Wenger sticks to a strict wage structure and, though Sanchez has scored 20 goals this season, the Frenchman isn’t about to acquiesce to his demands for £250,000-a-week.
Sanchez is ignoring gym rotation schedules
One source told Olley that Sanchez is even ignoring Arsenal’s rotation schedules in the gym, meaning his teammates are forced to work around him.
“If Alexis wants to use gym equipment, he uses it and that’s the end of it,” the source said.