Sanchez Move To Man United Likely- Wenger

Arsene Wenger has confirmed that a swap with Manchester United of Alexis Sanchez for Henrikh Mkhitaryan is “likely to happen” in the next 48 hours — but didn’t rule out the deal falling through and having the Chilean play for Arsenal on Saturday.

The Arsenal boss told a news conference on Thursday that he views Mkhitaryan as a good replacement for Sanchez but was coy about the possibility of also signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund — saying those talks are best kept secret.

When asked about how the talks with United over Sanchez are going, Wenger said: “It can happen, it can as well not happen. … If it doesn’t happen, he [Sanchez] will play on Saturday. I’ve worked on transfers for 30 years, so it is likely to happen. But at any moment, at any minute, things can break down.

“That’s how the transfer market is. As long as it’s not over the line, you have to accept that it can as well not happen. This kind of things are never guaranteed.”

Wenger left Sanchez out of his squad for Sunday’s defeat at Bournemouth, but said the forward has been training as normal this week. Sources have told ESPN FC that Mkhitaryan trained with United on Thursday as usual, adding that a deal with Arsenal is yet to be agreed.

Any transfer would need to be registered with the Premier League by midday local time on Friday for a player to be eligible to feature for their new club this weekend.

Wenger insisted that he wouldn’t have any problems playing the forward against Crystal Palace this weekend if he remains at the club.

Wenger again ruled out selling Mesut Ozil this month, though. When asked if the playmaker would still be at the club in February, Wenger said: “In February? Yes, of course.”

Source: ESPN FC