Alexis Sanchez: ‘I don’t regret leaving Barcelona for Arsenal’

“They did that in the final past year against Juventus when it was 1-1”.

Arsenal’s Kieran Gibbs reacts after the English FA Cup soccer match between Arsenal and Hull City at the Emirates stadium in London, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016.

“We started favourites (against Hull), we won’t be on Tuesday night so on Tuesday night we need great solidarity because we need to defend well, we know that, and make the maximum of our possession, what we didn’t do today”.

“You very rarely get the chance to play against Barcelona so you must be prepared to sacrifice parts of your attacking game, home and away”.

Sanchez himself insists that he does not regret leaving Barcelona, saying: “I never regret my decisions”. Even when they are being dominated they are still very unsafe. That victory ultimately proved futile, however, as Lionel Messi, who had scored four times to knock out Arsenal in the 2010 quarter-finals, struck twice in the second leg to secure a 4-3 aggregate win.

Despite Barca’s strong record against Arsenal, and Luis Enrique’s side coming into the game on the back of a 32-match unbeaten run, Iniesta does not expect the tie to be straightforward. And with so many attacking players at Barca it was a good choice to go. “Messi gave the ball to Suarez (from a penalty) because he wanted him to be the best goalscorer. when he (Messi) had the opportunity to score his 300th goal”.

Sanchez has not scored in the Premier League since returning from injury, but Wenger has promised that we will see the real Sanchez in the Champions League. “He is about focus, Sanchez”, added Wenger.

The fact that Arsenal have drawn and won the last two encounters against the Camp Nou giants on home soil will offer reason for optimism, but Wenger’s men have little room for error against Europe’s best team.

Barcelona went nine points clear at the top of La Liga thanks to first-half goals from Luis Suarez and Neymar in a 2-1 win at Las Palmas on Saturday.

But Wenger believes that if Arsenal stand a chance of causing an upset in Tuesdays UEFA Champions League 1st leg at the Emirates, that they will have to keep Suarez quiet.