Former Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez conceded the chance to play for the “biggest club in the world” was an offer he could not refuse after completing his move to Manchester United.
Sanchez, who scored 80 goals for the Gunners since joining from Barcelona in 2014, has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract at Old Trafford, while the deal for the 29-year-old sees Armenia skipper Henrikh Mkhitaryan move in the opposite direction.
“I am thrilled to be joining the biggest club in the world,” said Sanchez, whose arrival at Old Trafford was announced by the club’s Twitter account with him playing ‘Glory, Glory Man United’ on the piano.
“I have spent three-and-a-half wonderful years at Arsenal and I bring with me very positive memories of that great club and fans.
“The chance to play in this historic stadium and to work with Jose Mourinho was something I could not turn down. I hope I can show our fans all around the world why the club wanted to bring me here.”
United boss Jose Mourinho, who moved into pole position to secure Sanchez’s signature once Manchester City cooled their interest earlier this month, said: “Alexis is one of the best attacking players in the world and he will complete our very young and talented group of attacking players.”
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has described Mkhitaryan, whose relationship with Mourinho is believed to have deteriorated this season, as “the complete player”. Mkhitaryan, for his part, is determined to make his presence felt in north London.
“I’m very happy that we could finish this deal and I’m very happy to be here,” said Mkhitaryan, who scored 13 goals in 63 United appearances after joining the Red Devils from Borussia Dortmund for £26.3m in July 2016.
“It’s a dream come true because I’ve always dreamed of playing for Arsenal. Now that I’m here, I’ll do my best for this club to create history.”
