Alexis Sanchez has moved to quell any creeping consternation after accidentally hinting that Thierry Henry talked him into leaving Arsenal.
After signing for Manchester United earlier this week, Sanchez included the following passage as part of his farewell message on Instagram:
I remember today a conversation I had with (Thierry) Henry, a historic Arsenal player, who changed clubs for the same reason as me. Today is my turn.
While Sanchez didn’t explicitly mention what the conversation he had with Henry was actually about, many aggrieved Gooners began rounding on Henry (the club’s all-time record goalscorer) for this supposed act of treachery.
This led to the Frenchman having to issue a statement on social media in which he categorically denied coercing Sanchez into departing the Emirates…
I know I don’t need to explain this to the majority of Arsenal fans but contrary to speculation at no time did I tell Alexis Sanchez to leave Arsenal. I had no idea he was going to sign for Man Utd until I saw it on the news like the rest of you.
— Thierry Henry (@ThierryHenry) January 23, 2018
Sanchez has now followed suit, emitting his own mini-statement to set the record straight and defend Henry’s honour…
I want to clarify that Henry never told me to leave the club, it was a personal decision … he LOVES the club and someday it would be nice to see him as the arsenal coach because he loves the club …
— Alexis Sánchez (@Alexis_Sanchez) January 24, 2018
The Chilean’s message reads:
I want to clarify that Henry never told me to leave the club. It was a personal decision.
He loves the club and someday it would be nice to see him as the Arsenal coach because he loves the club.
Got it? Henry loves the club, twice – so you can go ahead and re-holster those ‘snake’ emojis, you reactionary buffoons.