Alexis Sanchez fancies a celebratory tattoo if Arsenal finally win a league title this season and has promised Gunners fans he has no intention of leaving North London. Sanchez, who returned after more than two months out with a hamstring problem, has set his sights on a championship medal to add to the FA Cup he won last year.
So, unlike previous seasons, it seems Arsenal need have no worries about losing one of their star men in the transfer window.
“I am very happy at Arsenal and I’m not thinking about leaving,” said Sanchez.
“The unity here between fans, club and players is enormous and the supporters have been fantastic. We suffer the defeats and enjoy the -victories together.
“This campaign we are demonstrating that we are serious candidates for the Premier League title. I think there can be no doubt about our credentials to be -champions this time.”
Arsenal went top of the league, following a goalless draw at Stoke last week, a result which came days after a 3-3 draw at Anfield.
But dropped points haven’t done anything to shake Sanchez’s belief that the Gunners can finish top of the pile in May.
He said: “It’s true that we have lost important points that could have given us a bigger advantage in the table, but, overall, we are having a very good season.
“The spirit between the players is sensational and, when we do suffer a blow, we are able to overcome it. That’s very important.
“I am always ambitious in football and I still want to win three titles this season – the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Uefa Champions League. It will not be easy but we can do it.”
“Not easy” is probably an -understatement, given that Arsenal face Sanchez’s former club Barcelona in the knockout stages of the -Champions League next month.
“Every game is difficult and the title race is close. Leicester have been a surprise and we know about Manchester City. But Manchester United also have a great team and are always candidates for the title too.
Sanchez says the highlight of his career at Arsenal so far has been lifting the FA Cup at Wembley last year especially as he scored in a thumping 4-0 victory over Aston Villa.
But he admits winning the Premier League, a trophy Arsenal haven’t lifted since 2004, would be even bigger.
“It would be a dream,” said the striker, who has nine goals for the Gunners this season, but who has been out since November with that hamstring injury.
“Right now, I don’t know what I would do if we won the league. But maybe a tattoo!”
If that happens, you can be sure Sanchez will have inked his name into -Arsenal’s history.
“The legs are fine and we have shown that we have very good players on the bench also and the rotation helps us get good results.
“We have a lot of games and they are all hard games, but we have to respond in the way we did today and I’m sure we will be fine.
“The team was up to the challenge. We didn’t rush the games and we knew we had to be patient. It is nice to get the three goals and that is confidence for the team as we had a difficult week ahead.”
While Arsenal made five alterations to rest key players such as Mesut Ozil for their title push, Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce made seven changes after complaining about the fixture pile-up.
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