Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry has revealed why the club striker, Alexis Sanchez was dropped against Chelsea in Wednesday’s night Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at the Stamford Bridge.
Henry believes the Gunners boss, Arsene Wenger sidelined the Chilean International due to tactical reasons.
Sanchez, who has been heavily linked with a move away from the Emirate, was named among the Arsenal substitutes.
Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi were preferred to the 29-year-old, with Mesut Ozil missing with a knee injury.
Henry, who remembered a time when he was left on the bench during his Arsenal days back in 2003, said Wenger was adopting a similar tactic tonight.
“I’ve been in a situation where I played a game in the FA Cup away at Old Trafford and the boss left me on the bench,” he said on Sky Sports.
“We won 2-0 there and I didn’t even play, so no one ever remembered that. But I didn’t play when we won 2-0 there.
“So he’s going for something, I think he’s trying to do what he did here in the league.
“Would you prefer to have Sanchez on the field? I think everyone would say yes.
“But maybe he wants to maybe close the shop at the beginning of the game and see if he can get them on the break with Sanchez after when they’re going to be a bit more tired.
“But those guys are good enough to perform. I think sometimes we tend to focus on who isn’t playing instead of focusing on who is playing.
“And yes, if Alexis Sanchez is not playing you are going to miss him regardless,” he added.
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