Arsene Wenger has lifted the lid on why he chose to start with Alexis Sanchez over Olivier Giroud in Arsenal‘s 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Sanchez was a massive doubt going into the Premier League fixture after suffering a hamstring tear while away on international duty with Chile but started the all-important match on Saturday.
While the ex-Barcelona forward struggled to make an impact on the game, Giroud came off the bench to rescue a point for the north London outfit.
Wenger has now explained that Sanchez’s counter-attacking skills, his ability in short spaces and his mentality on the pitch were the reasons for his team selection at the weekend.
‘[Sanchez] is good on the counter-attack, good in short spaces as well,’ the Gunners boss revealed.
‘He’s always a player who is not scared of anybody.
‘He played very well in the first half but we didn’t give him enough service in the second half because we dropped off too much and we played too many balls in our own half.
‘We didn’t give him enough support by coming out more. For a guy who played a decisive game on Wednesday morning, and then travelling after, it’s remarkable.’
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