Arsenal Legend Has Choice Words for Arsene Wenger as He Discusses Need for 'Luxury' Alexis Sanchez

Arsenal legend Ian Wright has expressed his belief that Arsene Wenger should continue without both Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil in the starting lineup for Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie with Doncaster.

The latter has been absent with injury, missing both the Koln victory in the Europa League and Saturday's draw at Chelsea, but has returned to training and could be close to a comeback.

Sanchez, meanwhile, started and scored against Koln but was introduced as a substitute at Stamford Bridge.

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And Wright has insisted that the attacking duo are not necessarily irreplaceable if Arsenal continue to play with the same adaptability as in the Chelsea draw.

“I would like Arsene Wenger to be more pragmatic in his approach, like he was in that particular game, and it’s up to the players to then execute it,” Wright told Sky Sports’ The Debate show. “I think if they can do that then it shows that they can do it successfully without them two.

“If Arsenal can go out against West Brom, play in the same way and be as disciplined as they were and still create chances like they did against Chelsea…

“Danny Welbeck got injured so one of them will probably come back, probably Sanchez but I would still leave them both out.

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“What it does is build confidence in the rest of the guys who played for each other [against Chelsea].”

Wright has also suggested that Wenger should allow Sanchez to sit out in the biggest games, describing the Chilean as a "luxury".

“Everyone knows how highly I rate Sanchez and I’d like to see him play as much as possible before moving on,” Wright told The Sun.

“But you do wonder if he is a luxury you cannot afford in games like the ones against Liverpool and Chelsea.

“And I’m not just saying this because of their goalless draw at the Bridge — I’ve thought this way for a while.

“Sanchez will get you wonder goals, like he did against Cologne in the Europa League, but he does lose the ball a lot when he cuts inside.

“And that can spell real trouble. You can get away with it against most teams and, like I said, the good far outweighs the bad stuff with Sanchez.”