With 11 minutes to play at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday, the fourth official held up a board bearing the numbers 23 and seven. Danny Welbeck was coming on, and Alexis Sánchez was being replaced towards the end of the 4-0 win against Swansea City. The Chilean walked stroppily to the side of the pitch, brushed past his manager with head bowed, angrily drop-volleyed his gloves and slumped alone on the bench, hiding under the hood of his puffy grey coat. This gifted, workaholic footballer, admired and even adored by millions, thousands of whom were in the stadium with him at the time, seemed utterly apart and friendless. If only at that moment he could have enjoyed the warmth and unquestioning companionship of his two beloved labradors, or just been reminded of their “positive vibrations” and “shiny eyes”.
The idea is not as ridiculous as it might appear. Last month Sánchez spoke about his pets, Atom and Humber, whose names are embroidered on his boots much as David Beckham once sported those of his children. “I appreciate their positive energy, especially after I have played a football game,” he said. “Sharing my time with them makes me feel relaxed. Whenever we play away I leave them with my friends. I miss them a lot because they give me a lot of positive vibrations. They look at me with shiny eyes when I wake up every morning. I just love the fact they want to play with me all the time.”
Related: Arséne Wenger praises the passion of Arsenal’s ‘jaded’ Alexis Sánchez
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