Arsenal legend tells Alexis Sanchez to see out deal with 'dignity and respect'
With only a year remaining on his current deal Arsenal risk losing the Chilean for nothing next season but Martin Keown doesn't foresee his professionalism being a problem
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Your support makes all the difference.Alexis Sanchez should see out his Arsenal contract with "dignity and respect" according to former Gunners favourite Martin Keown.
With only a year remaining on his current deal Arsenal risk losing the Chilean for nothing next season but despite that Arsene Wenger has remained adamant that his star man will not be sold.
Concerns were raised when he posted a message of social media shortly before pre-season training declaring himself 'sick' but Keown does not expect commitment to be an issue and backs him to remain professional throughout.
"I don't think Sanchez is the kind of player to shut up shop," he said at the FA and McDonald's Community Awards. "Wenger will be relying on the fact he's someone who loves playing football and giving his all. They can work something out because he's certainly made his mark at the club and been successful, so if he's going to go he should do it in a dignified way.
"He signed a contract in good faith and - while he could probably move and earn a lot more money at another club - sometimes it's about carrying on with dignity and respect and finishing the job. That's what he should do at Arsenal.
"Wenger is probably hoping he can somehow win the Premier League and keep Sanchez, meet his needs from a trophy point of view and find some way to match his contract demands - but I don't see that happening."
Wenger has strengthened his squad since finishing fifth last term, adding Alexandre Lacazette up front and Sead Kolasinac at the back, but there has also been an intriguing backroom appointment.
Jens Lehmann, the club's former goalkeeper, has returned as first-team coach and Keown, who briefly shared a dressing room with the German, believes he has plenty to offer the current generation.
"Jens is probably the only person I've met in football who is more intense than me," he added. "There's a steeliness about him, a determination and a real professionalism. He's a winner. When he first arrived he picked up the mentality of the dressing room so quickly, the way we did things at Arsenal.
"It doesn't surprise me that Arsene has reached out to him, they're not dissimilar in terms of outlook and Wenger may have seen something of himself in Jens."
:: Martin Keown was speaking at the 2017 FA & McDonald's Community Awards, celebrating 15 Years of Grassroots football. Find out more: http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/grassroots
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