Chuba Akpom has revealed that Alexis Sanchez has been getting some stick in the dressing room over his failed summer move to Manchester City.
Akpom, who insists that Alexis is happy at Arsenal, has revealed that the Gunners have been ribbing the Chilean over his failed move to rivals City.
“We do banter about it to be fair,” the 21-year-old told the Daily Star.
“But at the end of the day, he’s still at Arsenal. Everyone is happy, the fans are happy and he’s happy.
“I think with a player like Sanchez he just blocks it out because all he wants to do is play football.
“He’s so focussed on football, he blocks out a lot of negativity and transfer rumours.”
Alexis was set to complete a £60m move to City on the final day of the transfer window, which Arsenal reportedly agreed to as long as they could find a replacement.
The Gunners returned to Monaco for Thomas Lemar, who they had been in talks with over the summer, and were said to have agreed a £92m fee. However, the France international chose to stay in Ligue 1 for the time being.
This meant that Alexis had to stay put despite already reportedly telling those close to him, including his Chile teammates as he was away on international duty, that he had signed for City.
I’m glad the Arsenal players are apparently giving the 28-year-old stick. Especially as he’s been so sulky and is set to leave on a free next year anyway.
Although I’m hoping this banter isn’t as gentle as Akpom’s making it sound.
Alexis is reportedly set to be reuniting with Pep Guardiola in January instead.