Arsenal round-up: Midfielder likely to leave; Sanchez hasn’t asked for a transfer; Wenger likely to persist with tactical overhaul

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s future remains unclear and the latest update is not good news for Arsenal. Sky Sports report that the midfielder is unlikely to sign a new deal and the chance of him leaving during this transfer window is increasing. Although he flew out with the rest of the squad to Australia, sources close to the player have suggested that contract negotiations are at an impasse and no new talks are planned. The lack of progress has been frustrating for the England international and he is now likely to leave the club.

This is terrible news for Arsenal as the player managed to break into the first team last season. He found his consistency on the pitch, while his attitude was superb as he left everything he had on the pitch. The Gunners have been criticised for their poor mentality, but Oxlade-Chamberlain couldn’t be accused of that and it will be a terrible loss for them if he does depart. This is another example of the club allowing an important player to run his contract down and they need to learn from these mistakes, sooner rather than later.

The future of Alexis Sanchez changes on a daily basis and there is a long way to go in this window before we find out his fate. Arsene Wenger has been talking about his star attacker and suggested that he expects him to stay at the Emirates Stadium this summer when asked whether the Chilean has told him that he wants to leave. The following quotes were reported by BBC Sport:

“No. The players have contracts and we expect them to respect their contracts. That’s what we want.”

There is a long way to go in this transfer window and it is too early to predict where the attacker will end up, as several options remain open to him. Although Arsenal have yet to receive a serious bid, there are a lot of teams tracking the situation and it could be that one team is waiting before making their move. It would be a huge boost if the Gunners were able to keep him at the club, but it doesn’t seem like he wants to stay. If a club does submit a serious offer, the Gunners would have to consider it.

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Arsene Wenger will persist with the tactical overhaul that secured several positive results at the end of last season. The Telegraph report that the Frenchman wants to start the new season with three centre-backs and three main forwards, which should lead to a more balanced Arsenal team. During recent years, they have become predictable and stale, but that is no longer the case and the 3-4-2-1 formation has given them success.

Formations are fluid and they can take different shapes when the side is defending and attacking. The style of play implemented by Wenger towards the end of last season was both exciting and competitive. Although there were times when the Gunners lacked the panache that we have grown used to from them, they were winning matches and it is no surprise that they want to continue with the new formation. It will be interesting to see if it will bring similar success over a longer period of time.

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