If the 4-0 defeat to Liverpool and news that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will sign for Chelsea weren’t enough to infuriate Arsenal supporters, then reports that Alexis Sanchez has handed in a transfer request certainly will have done.The rumour was initially shared by a Twitter account called ‘Football Expose’, which boasts close to 70,000 followers on the social media side.“BREAKING: Alexis Sanchez has handed in transfer request at Arsenal according to our sources at the club,” they wrote.Cue a complete meltdown on Twitter.In the modern era, the majority of fans don’t wait for corroboration to believe a story.It helped that the rumour was believable, considering the chaos surrounding Arsenal right now, and the fact that a reporter from the Independent tweeted that he’d read Sanchez had handed in a transfer request.
Arsenal's reaction to the rumour
But it turns out that the Chilean hasn’t actually told Arsenal of his desire to leave, despite any feelings he may have towards the club’s current situation.
Arsenal have confirmed that Sanchez submitted a transfer request today, according to the Independent’s Jack Pitt-Brooke.
Twitter has reacted hilariously to the latest news, with fans joking that Sanchez probably handed the transfer request in yesterday.
Sanchez played against Liverpool
Sanchez made his first appearance of the season in Sunday’s 4-0 defeat to Liverpool, coming off minutes after Mohamed Salah made it 3-0.
He would later post a sombre picture of himself on the Anfield turf on Instagram, without a caption.
Arsenal have resisted interest from several clubs for the Chile international despite the fact that he seems uninterested in signing an extension to his current contract, which expires next summer.
The thought that Sanchez and Mesut Ozil will leave the Emirates Stadium for nothing at the end of the season now seems a formality.
And that would mark another low point in Wenger’s career at Arsenal. Not just the fact that Arsenal wouldn’t make a penny on the departures of their two best players, but the fact that neither was willing to stay at the club.
The season is just weeks old and yet it’s hard to see Arsenal, 16th in the table following yesterday’s loss, finishing in the top four.
And it’s precisely due to the lack of optimism that explains why Sanchez and Ozil will probably walk.