Alexis Sanchez has taken to Instagram to express his disappointment at the criticism he has received following Chile’s 1-0 defeat against Bolivia on Tuesday night.
The Arsenal forward couldn’t prevent his national team falling to a second successive defeat – after last week’s 3-0 loss to Paraguay – and qualification for next summer’s World Cup now looks increasingly doubtful.
And there was a suggestion that his frustrations at club level were included in the heartfelt post, in which Sanchez repeatedly claimed he feels “tired”.
He wrote: “You get tired of being criticised with reason and without reason, you get tired of wanting to be defeated, you get tired of saying to yourself ‘once more I’ll get up’ after crying after a defeat, and you get tired of telling the world and people who are with you, that everything is going well.
“And the worst, that no one ever realises how that makes you feel … I have the back 7 of Chile and it is a huge responsibility, that’s why it pays me that journalists and bad people criticise without knowing…”
Sanchez has made clear his desire to leave Arsenal, and looked set for a deadline move to Manchester City before his club pulled out of the deal having failed to secure a replacement.
It remains to be seen what part the Chilean will play in the Gunners’ campaign, although his contract has just one-year left to run, and City are expected to rekindle their interest in January.
Arsenal return to Premier League action with a home game against Bournemouth on Saturday as they look to end a run of two successive defeats.