Man United are still suffering because of one former Arsenal star – he ‘obliterated’ their structure

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Arsenal and Manchester United have had several huge battles over the years.

Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson are two of the greatest managers in the history of the Premier League, and they went toe-to-toe on several occasions.

The intensity of the rivalry may have come down over the last few years, but it is no secret that the two sets of fans do not like each other.

One reason for that is the two players United have signed from Arsenal over the years – Robin van Persie and Alexis Sanchez.

Manchester United are still suffering because of former Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez

Arsenal and Manchester United agreed to a swap deal that saw Sanchez move to Old Trafford and Henrikh Mkhitaryan switch to the Emirates.

Both sets of fans felt they got the better deal at the time, but it was a disaster for both parties – more so for Manchester United.

The Telegraph report that the Red Devils are suffering from the mistakes they made in the Sanchez deal even to this day.

That’s because the Chilean ‘obliterated’ their wage structure by landing a deal that paid him a staggering £560,000 every week.

That allowed agents of other players to demand bigger contracts for their clients. The report says: “Players who earned in the region of £100,000 a week were now asking for £200,000. Players on £200,000 a week were now expecting £300,000.”

The likes of Marcus Rashford, David De Gea and even Victor Lindelof got lucrative deals as a result, and that financial outlay has affected them badly over the years.

The outlet claims that ‘United are still paying the price’ for signing Sanchez back then, and it could take another year or two before they can bring things under control.

Stats compared: Alexis Sanchez at Man United vs Henrikh Mkhitaryan at Arsenal

It was painful for Arsenal fans to see Sanchez join Manchester United. The Chilean was one of the best players in the world when he was under Wenger at the Emirates.

However, he was desperate to leave, and Ivan Gazidis secured a deal that saw Mkhitaryan move to Arsenal. That didn’t work out either.

Both Sanchez and Mkhitaryan struggled at Manchester United and Arsenal respectively – there were no winners in that swap deal.

However, the Red Devils were bigger losers because Sanchez’s terrible performances cost them a ton of money – not just when he was playing for them but also when they terminated his deal.

The report claims that Manchester United had to pay £9 million to Sanchez to walk away as a free agent.