There will be no confusion for Alexis Sanchez as Arsenal prepare to welcome Manchester United on Sunday.. Two of Sanchez’s former sides will lock horns for their FA Cup third-round clash, which could present a quandary for many in Sanchez’s position. But the South American – who is back with his first European club, Udinese – has already made it plainly clear regarding his preference between the two Premier League rivals.. The 36-year-old completed a high-profile transfer from Barcelona to Arsenal in 2014 and called the Emirates Stadium home for three and a half years before making a controversial mid-season switch to United in 2018. The January switch left many Arsenal supporters irate, given that they were losing him to a fierce rival at a crucial juncture in their campaign.. READ MORE: Ruben Amorim could do something he has never done as Manchester United head coach vs Arsenal. READ MORE: I signed for Manchester United and asked to quit after my first training session. Time heals all wounds, however, and Arsenal highlighted one of Sanchez’s memorable goals against United in the run-up to an anticipated meet-up in January 2023. The finish came in an emphatic 3-0 victory for the Gunners in October 2015, and Sanchez returned the gesture with a touching reply, reminiscing about his time at Arsenal eight years on.. “You remembered me, I will never forget you too,” he responded. “You will always be in my heart. You were my first family in England, and everybody took good care of me, especially the fans. All the best Gunners.”. And that wasn’t the only hint regarding Sanchez’s preference between the clubs after previously expressing dissatisfaction with his stay at United. His tenure in Manchester lasted a mere 18 months before he was loaned out to Inter Milan and later left for free.. Sanchez was left dissatisfied with his stay at Old Trafford (Image: @Alexis_official1). “Sometimes there are things that you don’t realise until you get there, and I remember the first training session I had, I realised a lot of things,” Sanchez later said about his time at United. “After the session, I got home, and I told my family and my agent, ‘Can you not rip up the contract to go back to Arsenal?’ They laughed, I told them there’s something that doesn’t sit right, it doesn’t seem good.. “But I already signed, I was already there. After the first few months I carried on having the same feeling, we weren’t united as a team in that moment.”. The current state of Ruben Amorim’s squad might resonate with those sentiments, although the atmosphere at United has seen some uplift after securing a point against Premier League pace-setters Liverpool. The Red Devils initially took the lead at Anfield but ultimately shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw thanks to Amad’s late equaliser.. Arsenal, however, approach Sunday’s match on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, which ended their 13-game unbeaten streak. Just last month, Mikel Arteta’s team secured a 2-0 victory over Amorim’s side in the league, and Sanchez will be hoping for a repeat performance from the north Londoners this weekend.
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