Manchester United’s frustration with their search for a good striker continues as another arch rival’s star player joins their bandwagon of summer targets. According to reports, United are now chasing Arsenal’s in-form forward Alexis Sanchez.
The Chilean’s future has been a huge source of speculation of late with the club performing poorly in recent weeks. There have been numerous rumours of the player stalling a contract extension with Arsenal, which is due to expire next season, with European giants like Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan and Juventus waiting with baited breath to find a little window of opportunity.
Arsenal’s ouster from the Champions League and the English Premier League title race hasn’t helped their cause. There is currently a crisis going on at the club with fans and critics hell-bent on packing off current manager Arsene Wenger at the end of the season. And if the club has any intention of retaining their stature going into the next season, then securing his services would be a prime objective.
The player doesn’t seem to have a particularly cordial relationship with the manager at the moment, something which has been a rare occurrence at Arsenal football club, and it has all the more increased the fear of his departure among the fans. The 28-year-old has undoubtedly been their best player so far this season, scoring 20 goals for the North-London club in all competitions and replacing him will be a humungous task.
With Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney’s future still in the dark, United manager Jose Mourinho is desperate to bring in a world-class candidate to replace them and they have been chasing some of the top names across Europe. Their absence from the Champions League, however, has really prevented it from happening so far. Their forward targets already include Antoine Griezmann, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe, where they have faced a dead end; and Sanchez’s situation indicates a similar outcome.
Arsenal would never like to sell their best player to any club in the Premier League let alone to a direct rival club. The last such major move happened in 2012 when the under-debt club had sold Robin van Persie to United. The Dutch international went on to win the league at Old Trafford and Arsenal fans were left with bitter memories.
With the uproar going on outside the stadium, the club is highly unlikely to repeat such a feat in the near future. United’s first priority should be securing Ibrahimovic’s services for another year and keep their search on.
