Alexis Sanchez gained the upper-hand in his battle of wills with Arsenal and Arsene Wenger when the Gunners boss summoned the Chile star from bench during the defeat at Anfield back in March, according to Ian Wright.
Wenger controversially opted to axe Sanchez from his starting line-up, claiming he wanted to go with a more physical combination of Danny Welbeck and Olivier Giroud, but was forced into an embarrassing climb-down at the break with his side trailing 2-0.
Sanchez was introduced at the start of the second half, triggering an improved Arsenal performance although they subsequently lost the match 3-1, a defeat which ultimately cost them Champions League qualification.
The former Barcelona star has continued to lead Arsenal something of a merry dance throughout the summer and now looks destined to stay for another year and wind down his contract, but Wright feels it could have been a different had Wenger axed his star man from his matchday squad against Liverpool.
TRANSFERS IN
Sead Kolasinac (free, from Schalke), Alexandre Lacazette (£52m, from Lyon)
TRANSFERS OUT
Emi Martinez (Getafe, on loan) Chris Willock (free, to Benfica), Yaya Sanogo, Stefan O’Connor, Kristopher da Graca and Kostas Pileas (all released)
‘The problem Arsene Wenger’s had is the Liverpool game,’ Wright told Sky Sports.
‘He dropped him. Now if you’re going to drop him leave him at home. He didn’t do that and by doing that he’s handed the power to Sanchez simply because he still took him.
‘Arsenal played poorly. The only time they looked like they were going to do something was when Sanchez came on.
‘The fans were singing for him, he came on and did brilliantly and then all of a sudden the power was with him.’
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