Alexis Sanchez lets frustration boil over but Wenger dismisses concerns over Arsenal forward's morale

1/12
James Benge30 April 2016

Arsene Wenger has admitted Alexis Sanchez was unhappy with his decision to substitute the forward but maintained it was a matter of little concern after Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Norwich.

Sanchez struggled to make an impact throughout a nervy victory that saw Arsenal move back up to third, his admirable drive and commitment not matched by a first touch that all too often deserted the in-form Chilean.

With Wenger desperate to hold on to the slender advantage earned for his side by Danny Welbeck’s strike just before the hour mark Sanchez was withdrawn in favour of defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin.

The 27-year-old headed straight to the tunnel after being substituted and Wenger did not deny that Sanchez was unhappy with the decision.

“Was he happy? No,” Wenger said. “My job is to make decisions. To get 100 per cent happy is difficult.

“I honestly didn’t see [Sanchez walking down the tunnel]. At that stage I was more worried to keep the 1-0 and I didn’t see it.”

Sanchez was not the only Arsenal forward to struggle against a stubborn Norwich backline, with Olivier Giroud enduring a first half that saw him booed by his own supporters in the closing stages.

In Pictures: Arsenal vs Norwich

1/11

Though Welbeck secured a crucial three points for his side this was once more a game where Arsenal’s dominance of possession failed to translate on the scoresheet.

Arsenal have managed just 59 goals in the league this season, and a mere 27 in 18 home matches, but that is something Wenger puts down to obdurate opposition more than his own side’s attacking failings.

He said: “The problem we have faced this season is exactly the same problem we had today. We lost in the first game of the season against a team who sat very deep and didn’t come out. After that, all the teams came here and sat very deep.

“We did not find a way, in the air or on the ground, to score goals. Today again, I think once we were 1-0 up, there were more goals in the game for us, but we couldn’t finish the game off. You can always be caught back. Crystal Palace was 1-1.

“Why did we have fantastic results against the teams at the top of the table? Because they come out more, they play more and the game was more side to side.

“We had the problem that we couldn’t solve this season against teams who sit in front of their box.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in