Alexis says London is “stressful”, but that doesn’t mean he’s leaving

An article came out today that no doubt set some people’s alarm bells off, because the pull quote in it was

See? That sentence, there on its own - it should set alarm bells off! Alexis doesn’t like where he lives! He’s in the midst of negotiating a new contract! That’s a bad sign, right, if he hates his city? That means he’s automatically going to want to move, right?

Pump the brakes, homeslice.

Here’s the full quote, which explains things a bit more:

“I like to go to London to eat something or have a drink with my friends. However, I am a very home-loving person and I spend a lot of time at home. I do explore the city if I have the time for it but normally I would rather stay relaxed at home. London can be a stressful place because it’s crowded and it’s a big city.”

Okay, you can exhale now. Sanchez is a homebody - we know this. He has dogs. He loves his dogs. His dogs have their own damn Instagram! This is not the profile of a dude who loves to go out on the town and tear life a new one. This is a guy who wants to focus on his craft.

And guess what? London IS crowded. London IS a big city. London CAN be stressful. But that doesn’t mean Alexis doesn’t like it! It means, as you can read above, that he doesn’t participate in it. That’s a huge difference. “I would rather stay relaxed at home” is the most important takeaway here, and nothing in that quote tells me that Alexis is on the verge of leaving Arsenal because he doesn’t like London, or is miserable while he’s at Arsenal because it’s in London.

Many, many factors go into a player’s decision to play somewhere, and geography is no doubt one of them - but in this case, it’s not a dealbreaker as the Telegraph might lead you to believe it could be.