Alexis Sanchez reportedly abandoned plans to sign a new Arsenal contract after the club’s crushing 10-2 aggregate defeat by Bayern Munich in 2017.
Arsene Wenger’s side had become regulars in the Champions League knockout stages during the 2010s, but their European campaigns repeatedly ended against Bayern or Barcelona. The meeting with Bayern had become an almost familiar last-16 fixture – and one Arsenal rarely survived.
The clubs played each other eight times in the competition between 2013 and 2017, with Arsenal winning two and losing five. Wenger’s team were eliminated by Bayern in the last 16 in both 2013 and 2014, while they suffered three 5-1 defeats across the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons.
The 2017 tie was particularly damaging. Arsenal lost 5-1 in the first leg in Bavaria and were beaten by the same score at Emirates Stadium, leaving them with a humiliating 10-2 aggregate defeat.
For Sanchez, the result became a turning point. The Chile international had reportedly been prepared to remain in north London and had even shaken hands on a new contract earlier in the season. However, his visible frustration during the home defeat reflected a growing belief that his future lay elsewhere.
Wenger’s failure to guide Arsenal into the Champions League for the first time in 19 years further influenced Sanchez’s decision. In the summer of 2017, he attempted to secure a move to Manchester City, where he would have reunited with his former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola.
Arsenal accepted an offer worth about £60m for their leading player, but the transfer collapsed when the club failed to sign Thomas Lemar as Sanchez’s replacement. The proposed deal for Lemar would have set a club-record fee of £92m.
Sanchez therefore started the 2017/18 season with Arsenal, although Manchester United remained interested in signing him during the January transfer window. United manager Jose Mourinho had fallen out with Henrikh Mkhitaryan, allowing the two clubs to agree a straight swap involving the two players.
Neither footballer made the expected impact at their new club. Mkhitaryan spent 18 months at Arsenal before leaving, during a period when the club could not qualify for the Champions League and before Mikel Arteta’s revolution.
Sanchez’s form had already begun to decline and he was frustrating Arsenal supporters when he left. He struggled under Mourinho at Manchester United and moved to Inter Milan 18 months later, having become a clear flop. He has since admitted that he immediately regretted leaving Arsenal.
Bayern remain dominant domestically, but Arsenal are now considered a stronger side under Arteta. Last season, the Gunners beat Vincent Kompany’s team 3-1 at home in the Champions League’s new league phase before reaching the final.
Arsenal then lost to holders Paris Saint-Germain, who had also eliminated Bayern in the semi-finals. Bayern will have an opportunity to respond when they host Arsenal on Wednesday night in the third round of this season’s league phase.
