Sanchez sidelined until transfer window closes by ‘convenient’ injury

The French manager confirmed that Alexis Sanchez had suffered a distention in a training session prior to the Community Shield clash on Sunday, and he has completed a scan on Monday.

‘Alexis will not be available’, said Wenger when asked about the Chilean’s availability. ‘He has a little abdominal strain that he caught on Sunday morning in training, before he came to Wembley. He had a scan two days ago and he’s out for a while. I don’t know if it is two weeks or one more week but he will not be available. I think he will not play at Stoke, yes’, he said.

‘For us Alexis Sánchez is a loss, of course’, the experienced coach added. ‘But we have all the other players prepared in pre-season and they are all ready’.

Sanchez is heading into his final 12 months of his current Arsenal contract, and has been linked with a move to Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, with the latter prepared to offer up to £80 million for the striker.

Wenger, however, batted away questions about Sanchez’s potential move to Paris. ‘I can’t tell you that at the moment. I just think we are not open, what I said to you many times, to any offers, anyway’, he said.

The Frenchman’s good relationship with the PSG chairman also appears to have no bearing on the player’s future: ‘It’s a long time I didn’t speak to Nasser, because it’s certainly very busy to complete the transfer of Neymar and it’s a long time that I didn’t speak to him’, he concluded.