Arsenal could be on course for their worst ever season under Arsene Wenger as they could miss out on a top four finish. Arsenal started this season in really good form, but it came as no surprise when their form dipped in the second half of the season.
Also read: Arsenal planning massive summer overhaul
Arsenal currently sit in sixth place in the Premier League table and are enduring their worst ever run under Wenger. Arsenal have been branded a joke by their own fans for how they have been playing in recent matches and if they were to lose Alexis Sanchez to one of the Premier League rivals, it would be worse than humiliation.
The Chilean looks set to leave Arsenal in the summer after three years with reports saying that he is growing increasingly frustrated that the club is not progressing at all. Reports say that Chelsea are the latest club interested in signing him and Antonio Conte is ready to sell Diego Costa to finance a move for Sanchez.
Sanchez's contract at Arsenal expires in 2018 and is demanding a wage rise from £130,000 a week to £250,000 and has made it clear to Arsenal that it is non-negotiable. If Arsenal do not offer Sanchez the money he wants, they have not learnt anything from the past few years.
Arsenal have lost a number of players in the past, with the likes of Robin Van Persie, Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, and Gael Clichy, just to name a few, moving on. All these players have gone on to enjoy a lot of success since leaving Arsenal and some of these players have won more trophies than Arsenal have in the last eight years.
Arsenal were branded a huge joke when they sold Van Persie to Manchester United and things got worse for the Gunners when he won the Premier League with them in his very first season. Reports say that Arsenal know that they will lose Sanchez in the summer and have put a £50 million price tag on his head. If Arsenal do sell him, to a club in the Premier League or abroad it would be the same old story for them.
Wenger has always been really stingy when it comes to offering players huge wages, but the Frenchman needs to evolve with the demands of the game. Sanchez has undoubtedly been Arsenal's best player this season and one would wonder where Arsenal would be without him and his goals. If it were any other top club that were in this situation they would definitely offer their best player whatever he wanted to try and keep him at the club.
At this point Wenger cannot give excuses that the club are in debt as Arsenal have a lot of money lying around. However, part of the blame also has to go to Arsenal majority owner Stan Kroenke.
The American businessman admitted last year that he did not buy Arsenal to win trophies and said he doubts they will be able to compete with rival clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester City in terms of expenditure. If the owner himself has doubts about the club's success, there is nothing that can be done.
While Arsenal have ended their trophy drought by winning two FA Cups, the Arsenal fans will not be happy with just domestic cup success. They had an amazing opportunity to win the Premier League last season, but as always they failed to deliver when it mattered the most. They have never progressed past the round of 16 in the Champions League for the last seven seasons and that's not likely to change any time soon.
A lot of players are expected to be bought and sold at Arsenal in the summer as they plan for a massive overhaul, but the fans should not get their hopes too high. Even if they do make a number of signings in the summer, don't expect them to be big name signings and with the fact that Arsenal could miss out on the Champions League, they will most likely miss out on their top targets.
On paper Arsenal have a really good squad and one would expect them to challenge for the title, but that won't happen until the internal problems at the club are fixed. Looking at the way this season is going, it looks like the players have also lost faith in the manager and there seems to be no life in their performances anymore.
A lot needs to change at Arsenal over the summer. Wenger is undoubtedly the best manager Arsenal have ever had, but he has done all he can for the club and it's time to move on. Until then Arsenal will continue to lose their best players and will never be able to challenge the heavyweights of the Premier League.
Check out some of Sanchez's best moments from this season so far.
