EPL 2016/17 Reports: Manchester City want to sign Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez
Pep Guardiola has set his sights on signing Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal in January according to The Express. The Manchester City boss wants to be reunited with the Chile who he managed at Barcelona.
Manchester City are in top form in the Premier League and are unbeaten after 5 matches. They have been steamrolling past all their opponents week in and week out. But Guardiola wants to add more competition in the squad and has identified Alexis Sanchez as the 'perfect one' to do it.
Sanchez was signed by Arsenal in the summer of 2014 from Barcelona for a reported fee of £32 million. He made his competitive debut for Arsenal against Manchester City and has been a vital part of the Gunners' starting XI ever since. He was mainly used as a winger by Wenger but with Olivier Giroud misfiring and the club not able to attract a striker to sign for them, the Arsenal manager has been using Sanchez as a striker this season.
Arsenal have been trying to tie down Sanchez to a new contract but the Chilean has been holding out for better wages. The Gunners' new wage offer for the midfielder wasn't accepted by him and he's said to be disappointed with it.
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Sanchez has less than two years left on his current deal and Arsenal are already panicking about the possibility of their best player leaving the club soon. Wenger is said to be desperate keep him at Emirates but the board are not willing to meet the demands of the former Barcelona star, which is reportedly £200,000 a week.
Manchester City meanwhile, are willing to match the demands of the Chilean as they try and lure him to Etihad. Guardiola already has Sterling, Sane, Nolito and Silva to play in Alexis Sanchez' position but is keen on signing him to improve his options and make the players perform better.
Guardiola and Sanchez have worked together before and this might prove vital in luring the winger to Manchester City. Pep was the manager who signed him at Barcelona from Udinese but they could only work together for one season as the Spaniard left the Catalan club at the end of the season and took a sabbatical.
Pep Guardiola's main aim at Manchester City is to win the Champions League as they have won all the other competitions (apart from Europa League) they have taken part in since the takeover by Abu Dhabi United Group.
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Even if Sanchez is signed in January, he won't be able to take part in Manchester City's Champions League campaign for the rest of the season as he has already played for Arsenal in the opening group stage match against Paris Saint-German.
Despite the fact that Sanchez has just 2 years left in his contract, Arsenal would try their best to convince him to stay at the club for a longer time. Manchester City are said to be willing to pay up to £45 million to get the winger to join them. Juventus and Paris Saint-German were said to be interested in signing the former Barcelona star during the summer but Arsenal rejected all offers straight away.
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