Arsene Wenger made the controversial decision to start Alex Iwobi in place of Alexis Sanchez against Chelsea in the League Cup semi-final, and he’s unwilling to tell us why.
When questioned about his decision to drop Alexis for the clash, Wenger said that he couldn’t reveal why the forward didn’t start and he didn’t want to say why. “I don’t want to talk about that,” he said. “We have to keep at least some things a little bit private.”
Who knows what sort of conversations are going on in that dressing room that we’ll never hear about?
While they’re both professional, the Chilean has shown with his lacklustre performances this season that sometimes overriding emotions get in the way.
Fortunately, Wenger’s choice to start Iwobi instead of Alexis didn’t have a negative impact on the game. If fact, the 21-year-old put in a good shift and the Gunners managed to hold Chelsea to a 0-0 draw.
This means that when Antonio Conte and his men visit the Emirates on January 24 for the second leg, there’s no deficit to overturn. Whether Alexis will still be an Arsenal player by then remains to be seen.