Why I dropped Alexis against Liverpool – Wenger

Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, has defended his decision to drop Alexis Sanchez for their 3-1 loss at Liverpool on Saturday, saying he is “strong enough” to make such decisions.

The Chile international started from the bench, as Wenger went with Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck upfront.

The decision backfired, as the Reds went into the break two goals up, thanks to Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane. Alexis was introduced at the beginning of the second half and set up Danny Welbeck for the Gunners’ only goal, before Giorginio Wijnaldum settled the tie with a late goal.

“I have no regrets. My only regret is that we lost the game,” Wenger said afterwards.

“Decisions like that aren’t easy to make but I am strong enough to make them.

“My thinking with Alexis was that we had to be more direct and I wanted two players who were strong in the the air.

“I know Alexis Sanchez is a great player – I bought him. You can focus on what you want, but for every single player it’s the same.

“People ask me why I don’t keep strikers on the pitch. When I do it is still wrong.”

The result saw Liverpool push Arsenal out of the top four places into fifth position.

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