Alexis Sanchez was injured against West Brom when James McClean went in on him, studs up and ankle high after 41 minutes.
Although the Chilean tried to play on, he was clearly not himself in the second half and was eventually removed after 78 minutes. Should he have been taken off sooner? Absolutely, but he wasn’t, and we played on with ten-and-a-half men for a large part of the disastrous second half.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Wenger said, “He was injured from the tackle in the first half.
“It was a bad tackle.
“His ankle is in an absolutely terrible state.
“He should not have played in the second half but he insisted that he wanted to come out.
“In the first half he was the one who created many chances, made dangerous situations and in the second half you could see that he couldn’t anymore.
“In the end we had to take him off. He should not even have played in the second half.
“Chile goes to Argentina for a massive game but they play only next week and if it’s only a kick, he will play. If the ligament is damaged, he will not play.”
The comment ‘he should not have played in the second half’ really annoys me.
It is not the player’s decision who gets to play, no matter if he is a diva like Alexis who demands all the minutes. If a player is clearly not fit for purpose, it damages the whole team and one player’s selfishness should not be allowed to override that.
The manager must be stronger. Twice Wenger says that Alexis should not have played in the second half.
Yet he did.
Whose fault is that?
Chile-based radio station, Cooperativa, are already reporting that Alexis is on his way to Santiago. They claim the blow to his ankle is ‘minor’. They will examine his ankle when he arrives today [Sunday].