Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger addressed the media on Monday afternoon ahead of his side’s Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich.
The Gunners will look to overturn a 5-1 deficit on Tuesday night at the Emirates in the second leg of their round-of-16 meeting, but the focus at the weekend and on Monday has been the decision to drop Alexis Sanchez to the bench in the defeat to Liverpool.
While The Sun were just one of a number of publications to run a story suggesting that the 28-year-old had been involved in a row with Wenger himself and other players, it seems as though the Gunners chief isn’t aware of any such happenings and has dismissed it entirely.
However, the French tactician did get tetchy during the questioning too, as he interrupted when Per Mertesacker was asked if the players still want their manager to stay, as seen in the tweet below from ESPN FC correspondent Mattias Karen.
Further, when pressed on his future he responded: “I think I have built this club. I want it to be successful so I want to take a bit of time before making a decision. I’d like to wait to see how we finish the season.”
Meanwhile, Wenger also confirmed that Mesut Ozil would not play in midweek as he continues to struggle with an illness. The Arsenal manager did add that he should be able to return at the weekend for the FA Cup tie with Lincoln City while he noted that he hadn’t yet decided if Sanchez would return to the starting line-up.
Wenger says reports about Sanchez were “completely false. But I understand that you have to fill the newspapers.”
— Mattias Karén (@MattiasKaren) March 6, 2017
Wenger interrupts question to Mertesacker about whether players want him to stay: “It’s not down to the players to choose a manager.”
— Mattias Karén (@MattiasKaren) March 6, 2017
Ozil trained today but Wenger says he's not match fit. Won't say whether Sanchez will start or not.
— Mattias Karén (@MattiasKaren) March 6, 2017