£500,000-a-week: Alexis Sanchez seals transfer to Manchester United

Alexis Sanchez is a Manchester United player after the necessary paperwork was completed yesterday.

The Chilean striker leaves Arsenal in a deal that The Sun says will make him the best-paid footballer in Britain with a wage of £500,000 a week. Oddly enough, however, there was no mention of cold hard cash when Sanchez told the Red Devils’ website why he’d chosen to move to Old Trafford.

“I have spent three and a half wonderful years at Arsenal and I bring with me very positive memories of that great club and its fans,” he said.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

“The chance to play in this historic stadium and to work with Jose Mourinho was something I could not turn down. I am very proud to be the first Chilean player ever to play for United’s first team and I hope I can show our fans all around the world why the club wanted to bring me here.”

However, in a subsequent message posted on Instagram, Sanchez made a veiled criticism of his former club, explaining that he had left for the same reason as Thierry Henry a decade ago: namely that the Gunners have turned into also-rans.

As part of the deal, Arsenal have taken possession of United outcast Henrikh Mkhitaryan, a swap that is unlikely to be that well received by Gunners fans considering the problems the Armenian playmaker has had adapting to Premier League football.

Arsene Wenger did his best to spin the exchange in a positive light, telling the official Arsenal website: “Henrikh is a very complete player. He creates chances, he defends well, he can absorb distances and he’s very committed as well. I must say he’s a player who has all the attributes.”

As for the player himself, he declared he was “very happy” to be at the Emirates, adding in time-honoured fashion that his new club was the realisation of a long-held fantasy. “It’s a dream come true because I’ve always dreamed of playing for Arsenal,” said Mkhitaryan. “Now that I’m here, I’ll do my best for this club to create history.”

Why a player would dream of joining a club where the Europa League is the new Champions League is anyone’s guess, but it looks like Olivier Giroud could also have decided like Sanchez that Thursday night football isn’t for him.

According to Sky Sports, the French striker could soon be signing for Borussia Dortmund with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang heading in the other direction. Citing as their sources their Sky colleagues in Germany, the British broadcaster claims that Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis and head of recruitment Sven Mislintat are in Germany to thrash out a deal for Aubameyang.

Apparently no fee has been agreed between the two clubs but Dortmund “have expressed an interest in France international striker Giroud”.

That sits well with the Gallic goalscorer, who has started only one Premier League game for Arsenal this season, and who has been told by France coach Didier Deschamps that he needs more regular starts if he’s to secure a place in their World Cup squad.