Shropshire Star

Alexis Sanchez joins Manchester United as Henrikh Mkhitaryan makes Arsenal move

Sanchez hit back at ex-Arsenal players that had been critical of him in a farewell post on Instagram.

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Alexis Sanchez has completed his move to Manchester United from Arsenal, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan heading the other way in one of the most high-profile swap moves of all time.

The finishing touches to the deal were made on Monday and an announcement that the two 29-year-olds had traded places was made at 6pm.

United’s new number seven Sanchez, who missed Arsenal’s win over Crystal Palace on Saturday while negotiations over a switch continued, posted a departing message on Instagram where he took aim at ex-Arsenal players that have been critical of him.

“I must say I always gave 100%, until the last day, when I asked to the Mister (Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger) to be in the team, because I wanted to be a contribution.”

Martin Keown, a former Gunners defender, had called Sanchez “the biggest mercenary in football”, with reports suggesting the Chilean forward will earn £500,000 a week at Old Trafford.

United’s rivals Manchester City had tried to sign Sanchez in the summer and revisited the possibility in this window only to pull out due to the rising costs.

Arsenal wanted £35million for a player out of contract in the summer and United’s willingness to meet Sanchez’s wage demands and use a makeweight in Mkhitaryan, who is valued at the Gunners’ asking price, allowed a straight swap to take place.

“Since I was a young lad I’ve always said that my dream was to play for Manchester United, and I’m not just saying that because I’m here now and today it’s come true,” Sanchez told MUTV.

“I always said as a kid that I’d like to play for United and I once spoke to Sir Alex Ferguson about it. We chatted for around 20 minutes. And I told him that my dream was to come here to Manchester United.

“It really is a massive club, very powerful, and so now when I got the opportunity to come here I looked at the badge and my hairs just stood up on end because it’s a powerful club and the biggest in England.”

United boss Mourinho lauded the acquisition of Sanchez, adding: “Alexis is one of the best attacking players in the world and he will complete our very young and talented group of attacking players.

“He will bring his ambition, drive and personality, qualities that make a Manchester United player and a player that makes the team stronger and the supporters proud of their club dimension and prestige.”

In his Instagram post, Sanchez also referenced speaking to Thierry Henry, who left Arsenal for Barcelona in 2007.

“I remember today, a conversation I had with Henry, a historic Arsenal player, who changed club for the same reason and today is my turn,” Sanchez added.

Mkhitaryan was one of Mourinho’s first signings in the summer of 2016 and scored 11 times in his debut season, including one goal in the Europa League final victory over Ajax.

However, he was deemed surplus to requirements by the United boss once the opportunity to sign Sanchez became available in this window.

“Henrikh is a very complete player,” Wenger said on arsenal.com. “He creates chances, he defends well, he can absorb distances and he’s very committed as well. I must say he’s a player who has all the attributes.”

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