Arsenal fans might well have been bracing themselves for Alexis Sanchez’s departure this summer.
His failure to agree a new deal at the Emirates, followed by a fifth place finish for the Gunners last season made it almost inevitable. Despite reports linking him with a move to Bayern Munich, there are now strong rumours that the Chilean has agreed terms for a move to Manchester City.
Of course, Arsenal don’t have to sell him to City this summer. He’s still a year to run on his current deal in North London, and any bid for him from Pep Guardiola’s side will have to be approved by the Arsenal board before a move actually happens.
Despite this, Arsenal run the risk of losing the player for free in a year if they do decide to reject an offer from City. They were faced with a similar situation five years ago with Robin van Persie, who was reluctantly sold to Manchester United as a result.
The prospect of losing Sanchez to City, a side that have signed a number of players from Arsenal in recent years, has prompted an all-too-predictable reaction from Arsenal’s supporters.
Some have already made clear that they’ll shed tears if their hero makes the move north…
Honestly if @Alexis_Sanchez goes to man city I will literally cry!
— Ryan Perry (@RyaaanPerry) June 7, 2017
Others have gone as far as threatening to dedicate their social media accounts to City’s manager if the deal goes through. We’re not sure why, either…
https://twitter.com/Xhakafied/status/872459189511213057
Some Arsenal fans are suggesting taking the slightly more extreme measure of rioting outside the club’s stadium…
If we sell Alexis to City there should be riots outside Emirates
— V Mistry (@Mistry_10) June 7, 2017
Elsewhere, some Arsenal fans have made clear that they’ll sever their allegiances with the club if the move goes through…
@Arsenal I will stop watching Arsenal matches if they seel Sanchez to Man City…Enough is Enough pic.twitter.com/kjpJEOf2cs
— Reggae Nation# (@Sayogrr) June 7, 2017
If Arsenal sell sanchez to man city im done with em🖕
— George (@GeorgeCryer_) June 7, 2017
With one supporter so fed up with it that he’s even prepared to start following North London’s other football club…
https://twitter.com/JDavies11/status/872466752441122817
