Transfers Can Break Down At Any Moment – Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger has said that a swap with Manchester United of Alexis Sanchez for Henrikh Mkhitaryan is “likely to happen” in the next 48 hours — but didn’t rule out the deal falling through and having the Chilean play for Arsenal on Saturday.

Wenger said: “It can happen, it can as well not happen. … If it doesn’t happen, he [Sanchez] will play on Saturday. I’ve worked on transfers for 30 years, so it is likely to happen. But at any moment, at any minute, things can break down.

“That’s how the transfer market is. As long as it’s not over the line, you have to accept that it can as well not happen. These kind of things are never guaranteed.”

“I left him out at Bournemouth because I was scared that the transfer would happen before we played Bournemouth. It was already quite advanced so I didn’t want to be in the position where I tried with him and he has to go back, so he doesn’t play,” Wenger said. “It’s now in the next 24 to 48 hours that it will happen or not.”

“These kind of things, it’s better when it’s secret and when you don’t come out on it, and when you announce it when it’s over the line,” Wenger said. “Apart from the deal we just spoke about, Alexis and Mkhitaryan could happen, yes, but nothing else is close.”