Arsenal have officially announced the signing of Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez. According to a variety of reports, the fee will be in the neighborhood of £30 million, give or take a few based on incentives. As always, the club says the fee is undisclosed and the contract is long-term.
Sanchez has been a rumored Arsenal target for a few months, but rumors really heated up during the World Cup, as Arsene Wenger reportedly held meetings in Brazil with Sanchez and representatives to seal the deal. For the past week or so it's come closer and closer to closing, and finally here we are, across the finish line.
And so! This is awesome news, obviously. Alexis Sanchez is a very highly-regarded forward, and he has the ability to play across the front line. He was La Liga's fourth-leading scorer last year, behind only the world's two best players (Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, that is) and Diego Costa. If you're interested in seeing him in action, here's a couple of videos, to save you a YouTube search. Here's one with scoring and other tricks:
And here we have a look at Alexis' off-the-ball movement:
So yeah, go ahead and get excited, you guys. This dude is damn good.