Usually-frugal Arsene Wenger took the unusual step of opening his rigid purse strings earlier this summer after sanctioning the £35 million purchase of Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez. Wenger, who has often been criticised by fans for his limited spending, delighted supporters by unveiling the Chilean at Emirates Stadium back in July. Sanchez scored 19 La Liga goals in 34 appearances last season which is an amazing return for a player who was largely pushed out onto the wing at Barca, and Wenger saw enough potential in the South American ace to hand him wages of £150,000-a-week - double the £75,000-a-week he was earning at the Nou Camp. As such, Sanchez is the Gunners' joint-highest earner, meaning there will be massive pressure on the 25-year-old to come up with the goods in his debut season. If he can replicate his goal-scoring heroics from his playing days in Spain, however, he will be just fine.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
