Arsenal suffered a major blow in January when they lost the services of Alexis Sanchez to Manchester United, although the Chilean has struggled to perform since moving to Old Trafford.
The 29-year-old was poised to see his contract in north London expire at the end of the season and the likelihood of the former Barcelona man extending his deal was very slim, which led Arsenal to accept a departure.
Arsene Wenger’s side secured Henrikh Mkhitaryan in return and the Armenian international has slotted in nicely to the squad, establishing a solid relationship with former Borussia Dortmund team-mate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Alexis was often criticised during his time with the Gunners for being an individual player rather than a team-mate and former Arsenal coach Liam Brady has revealed the lack of relationship with the two-time Copa America winner was clear for all to see.
Speaking to The Stand with Eamon Dunphy, Brady said:
“He does his own thing and he is not part of the group, but all the other players forgave him for that because when he played for Arsenal he was outstanding in the early part of his career at Arsenal.”
“He was an example to the Arsenal players for how hard you need to work in his early days, but going up to Manchester and being on that kind of wage compared to the other lads, you need to do as you are asked and do what the other players do. He has always been a bit of a solo player.”