Arsenal will sell Alexis to Manchester City for record fee

Arsenal will grant Alexis Sánchez his desired transfer to Manchester City, provided Pep Guardiola’s side pay Arsenal a record transfer fee, according to the Daily Mirror. Arsenal, who have offered Alexis what seems to be a compromise deal of a 2-year contract worth £300,000/week—meaning he’d be paid this season and could be sold next summer—have been made aware that Alexis will reject any such compromise in order to force his way out of the club this summer.

Arsenal, though, are unwilling to sell Alexis to a Premier League rival unless City pay Arsenal £80m, which would be a Manchester City transfer record and a record amount received by Arsenal, who will otherwise force Alexis to honour his contract.

While it’d be painful to see Alexis in a City shirt next season, £80m for a 29-year old who has one year left on his contract and refuses to sign what appears to be even a compromise extension is a no-brainer. Add in that Alexis has played football every summer since 2014, and turning down that amount of money is unthinkable. Arsenal could measure one season of Alexis as being worth £50m, but no play for one season is going to be worth £80m, not least when that money can be immediately reinvested. Arsenal, who are lining up a bid of an initial £45m for Monaco’s Thomas Lemar, having already bought Alexandre Lacazette for £52m, could use the £80m to re-sign players and could also invest in elite talent in other positions to improve the collective level of the team, such as central midfield, which is bereft of starting talent after Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey.

The question, then, is whether Arsenal budge on an £80m valuation. City have already spent nearly £60m this summer, and it is unlikely they would spend £80m on Alexis, hoping to sign him for £50m. Under the ownership of Stan Kroenke, Arsenal have consistently sold players to Premier League sides for decent money (at the time); the question, then, is what do they consider decent money to be for Alexis. If it is £65m or even £70m, that is still palatable; below that amount, and Arsenal could be in for a season of discontent before a ball is even kicked.