Arsenal and Chile forward Alexis Sanchez has hit back at journalists critical of his performance for the national team against Bolivia.
Chile went down 1-0 to Bolivia last night, leaving them sixth in qualifying and with a massive job on their hands to reaach the World Cup. Alexis came in for some heavy criticism after his performance, something which he’s taken exception to.
He took to Instagram after the game to complain about the criticism.
“You get tired of being criticized with reason and without reason, you get tired of wanting to be defeated, you get tired of saying to yourself “I’ll get up again” after crying after a defeat, and you get tired of telling the world and people who are with you, that everything is going well,” he wrote.
“And the worst, that no one ever realizes how that makes you feel … I have the No 7 of Chile on my back and it is a huge responsibility, that’s why I’m sorry that journalists and bad people criticize without knowing…”
Having received nothing but praise during his time in England, a bit of criticism probably comes as a shock to him. The 28-year-old should know that any signs of not being fully committed to the cause will cause fans to turn on him very quickly.
Alexis has been instrumental in Chile’s success in recent years, leading them to two Copa Americas and the final of the Confederations Cup, where he became their all-time leading goalscorer.
The last two games, though, haven’t gone to plan and you have to wonder if Alexis is fully focussed after he didn’t get his move to Manchester City on deadline day. He’s also yet to gain full match fitness after a disrupted pre-season. Evidently, the player isn’t at his best.
He’ll now return to Arsenal to prepare for the game against Bournemouth on Saturday.