The “half-hearted” line Arsene Wenger has drawn under the Alexis Sanchez saga could lead to more disgruntlement within Arsenal’s dressing room, according to Chelsea legend Frank Lampard.
Sanchez was dropped for Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Liverpool, and Standard Sport understands it is increasingly likely the 28- year-old could leave this summer after becoming a divisive figure at the club.
Wenger moved to dispel the growing speculation surrounding Sanchez’s future by declaring claims about mounting disharmony in the Emirates Stadium dressing room as “completely false.”
However, Lampard is adamant the precarious position Arsenal find themselves in – with the north Londoners at risk of missing out on a top-four finish and Wenger’s long-term future unclear – could result in further cracks appearing among the north Londoner’ squad.
“I don’t think they’ve got a particularly strong dressing room – I really don’t,” Lampard told Sky Sports MNF programme.
“I don’t know them all personally but when you look at it you wonder ‘who are the strong characters in that dressing room?’
“There might be other players who are disgruntled – ones who are in and out the team – when criticism starts at a club it spreads and players make excuses.
“When you’re in that position like Arsenal are it becomes very difficult for the manager to deal with it. He’s tried to deal with it but he’s not really drawn a big line – he’s drawn a half-hearted line.”
Wenger’s decision not to start Sanchez, as well as suggesting the reasoning behind the omission was a desire to play a more direct brand of football, backfired as his side were well-beaten on Merseyside.
Calling upon the 28-year-old for the second half – during which Sanchez made an immediate impact – seems to have added more fuel to the story, prompting MNF pundit Jamie Carragher to ask why the Chilean had not been dropped entirely.
And Lampard was also left perplexed by Wenger’s choice as the former Chelsea midfielder believes the resulting situation was a no-win scenario for the Arsenal boss.
“When you’ve got your star man and you try and discipline him and go to Liverpool – which is massive game for them – you leave him out.
“If you leave him out and Arsenal win you have to keep him on the bench for a while. Can that Arsenal team finish in the top four without him? I’m not sure they can.
“If you lose – like they did – you’ve got a real problem as well so I don’t see where the win was for [Wenger].
Arsenal will turn their attentions to the Champions League on Tuesday night as they attempt to overhaul a four-goal deficit in the second leg of their last-16 clash against Bayern Munich.
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