Arsenal have completed the signing of Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona for a fee believed to be around the £32m mark.
This will come as great news to fans of the London outlet as the Chile international becomes their first major signing of the summer. Speculation surrounding the future of the former Udinese forward has been deliberated for months, with Liverpool and Juventus also being tipped as potential suitors for the 25-year-old.
In a move that will appease the Gunners, Sanchez rejected both of these European giants for a chance to grace the Emirates turf. The winger also becomes the second most expensive transfer in the club’s long history, lagging behind Mesut Ozil, who put pen to paper on a £42.5m deal last year.
Sanchez procliamed, "I'm so happy to be joining Arsenal, a club which has a great manager, a fantastic squad of players, huge support around the world and a great stadium in London. I’m looking forward to meeting my new team-mates and to be playing for Arsenal in the Premier League and Champions League. I will give my best to Arsenal and want to make all the supporters happy.”.
Scoring 19 times in a single La Liga season is no mean feat, in fact only the great Lionel Messi could boast more goals in Catalonia last campaign. His pace, strength and finishing ability were all epitomized during his country's World Cup run, in which Sanchez scored twice to help the South American side reach the last-16.
Many were sceptical towards the antics of manager Arsene Wenger after the Frenchman was seen partaking in beach volleyball during his coverage of the tournament with television station TF1. This will inevitably become forgotten as the FA Cup holders get off to their best summer window in recent memory.
The club will unveil new kits for the 2014-15 season on Thursday, their first under the PUMA regime, it looks as though shirts for both Alexis Sanchez and the incoming Mathieu Debuchy will fly off the shelves.