‘biggest mercenary in football’

But Sanchez’s decision to join the Red Devils shows he is ‘mercenary’ whose primary motivation is money, according to Martin Keown.

‘Sanchez has got to be the biggest mercenary in football,’ the former England defender told the Daily Mail.

‘Manchester City have wanted to sign Sanchez since the summer and, if no deal is done in January, they will be waiting for him at the end of the season.

‘City would be the natural place for Sanchez to go to develop his football. He has worked with Pep Guardiola before.

‘But for Sanchez, this is clearly not about going to the best team, working with Guardiola and taking his game to another level.

‘He has probably thought that he will not get a better offer if he waits until the summer, so he might as well take the best deal on offer now. It has been all about the money.

‘From Manchester United’s point of view, they had to blow City out of the water. Signing Sanchez takes them up a few notches when it comes to competing with their rivals.

On Mkhi

‘He will be a better player at Arsenal than he has been at Manchester United,’ Keown added. ‘Mkhitaryan needs to be nurtured and cared for.

‘When I watched United recently, there were two players who were clearly not thriving: Luke Shaw, and Mkhitaryan.

‘You could see in Mkhitaryan’s body language that there was a fear in his play. Every time he got something wrong you could see Mourinho bristling on the sidelines. ‘If Mourinho does not think that his players are unaware of what he is doing on the touchline then he should not be in management.

‘Do not forget that Mkhitaryan had the most assists in the Bundesliga the season before he went to Old Trafford.

Wenger has a great affinity with the German league and I am sure a personal discussion with Wenger will have swung it for Mkhitaryan to join Arsenal. ‘The big question is where Arsenal play him. He could play off the left, off the front or in a more central role.’