Pep Guardiola Confirms Arsenal’s Offer To Swap Alexis Sanchez With Raheem Sterling

Pep Guardiola says Sterling to Arsenal has zero chance of happening…

Pep Guardiola confirmed the reports that Arsenal offered Alexis Sanchez to Manchester City on the final days of the window in a potential swap deal with Raheem Sterling.

Guardiola stated that Arsenal were told unequivocally that Sterling was not for sale, and that if they wanted to do a deal, a cash-only offer for Alexis would be made.

As reported by many outlets, a figure of £60million was agreed only for the deal to fall through after we failed to agree a deal with Thomas Lemar.

It’s rather odd to see a manager speak so openly about the talks which took place during the transfer window, though you could hear the annoyance in Guardiola’s tone.

After months of a ‘not for sale’ stance, it was unbeknown to many as to why we opened a dialogue with City days before the window closed.

However, for Guardiola, Sterling is imperative to his plans.

“When we started to speak with Arsenal in the last days, they wanted to make a swap with Raz,” Guardiola told the press.

“They talked to me and I said ‘no chance. zero chance. Not one percent chance we will swap Raz because I trust a lot in him.

“The only deal, if possible, was cash. We tried to make an offer. They accepted but in the end, they could not sign the player they wanted to sign, (so) Alexis stayed in Arsenal.”

I doubt we’ve heard the last of Alexis’ links to Man City, with his eligibility in the Champions League making him an attractive proposition in January.

source: My Football Views