Arsene Wenger: Alexis Sanchez exit won’t hurt as much as Robin van Persie’s Manchester United defection

Arsene Wenger believes Alexis Sanchez’s Arsenal exit won’t be as painful as that which took Robin van Persie to Manchester United in 2012.

Sanchez, 29, is closing in on a big-money move to join Jose Mourinho’s side, having decided against a contract renewal at the Emirates.

Sanchez treads the path north that Van Persie did in 2012, with the Dutchman – then Arsenal’s main man – going on to fire United to the Premier League title the following year.

But Wenger feels as though Arsenal’s fans have made peace with Sanchez’s impending defection – and that it won’t hurt like Van Persie’s £24million move six years ago.

“We took Van Persie when he played in the reserve team at Feyenoord,” said Wenger on Thursday.

“We made a long work with him. When you get them there and, after they leave, that is the most painful.”

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is expected to join the Gunners as part of the deal that takes Sanchez to Old Trafford, and Wenger believes the Armenian’s arrival will soften the impact of losing the Chilean.

“Our fans know Alexis will not extend – they have accepted that idea and the fact it will not be one-way traffic,” he said.

“It will be other-way traffic as well and that makes the whole thing a bit smoother, maybe a bit less disappointing.

“We lose a player, yes, but we could gain another player. I think one would replace the other.”