Sanchez reveals his Arsenal future dilemma: A truly great player needs big titles

Alexis Sanchez says he will discuss his Arsenal future with Arsene Wenger at the end of the season, but is frustrated he has not been able to win the big titles he feels can make a player become truly great.

The Chile international is out of contract in 2018 and has been the subject of intense speculation throughout the campaign, with the Gunners struggling to secure a top-four Premier League finish, the FA Cup final representing their only chance of silverware.

Sanchez has impressed individually this season, scoring 24 goals in all competitions, but he insists it is the chance to win league titles and the Champions League that drives him, which will play a part when he thinks about his next move after 2016-17.

Asked if there was any news on his future following optimistic comments from Wenger, Sanchez told Sky Sports: “No, we have said that the two of us will sit down together to discuss the topic in terms of what will happen and what we are going to do, what is best for the club, what is best for me, what is best for him. 

“We will speak once the season is over because if I speak now, that would take my focus away from what I want, which is qualifying for the Champions League and winning the FA Cup.

“It depends. What I want to do now is to finish the season well and then I will sit down with the club to decide what I’m going to do.

“I’m very happy about [my goal tally], but, as always, I demand more from myself. I think that if a player wants to be at the very top, he needs to win the Champions League and league titles. That’s what makes the great players truly great.

“I don’t think it has been a very good season for me because I came here to win trophies, to be competing in the Champions League semi-finals and to win the Premier League.

“I want to win the Champions League which is every footballer’s dream. I want to win the Premier League because I play here.

“I feel disappointed that we are not in a position to win the Premier League or the Champions League, but we do have the FA Cup final coming up and we will give it our all to try to win it.

“When I got here, I thought, ‘I will win the title with this squad’. I feel that we should win more games 3-0 or 4-0, of course, that does sometimes happen when we play very well. I think Arsenal play the best brand of football in England.

“I have played for other clubs and I have to say that the quality of the players here is very impressive. There isn’t a very big difference.”

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Sanchez insists his frustrated body language during some disappointing Arsenal performances simply highlights his desire to succeed.

“Players who want success in football and people who want to achieve greatness in life get angry when it’s not going well and demand more from themselves,” he said.

“Sometimes I am frustrated, sometimes I’m not. There have been games when we have been in a position to kick on and win, but we have made a small mistake and found ourselves 2-0 down.

“Sometimes that gets to me because winning those points is so important if you want to win the Premier League.

“No, I’m not normally like that [an angry character]. I sometimes get angry with myself because there are moments on the pitch when I make mistakes and I don’t like it when that happens.”