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Wenger: Sanchez departure has lifted uncertainty

Cape Town - Arsene Wenger says he is happy that Alexis Sanchez has finally left as it has helped lift the feeling of uncertainty surrounding the club.

Wenger was speaking after the Gunners secured a final against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup following a 2-1 win over Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.

He said that the players can finally regain focus after Sanchez's move to Manchester United.

"Uncertainty [has gone],” said Wenger.

"We lost a great player, but of course it's true that when the team doesn't know what's going on, there's less clarity and less focus on performances.

"Now we know that we have to deal with that and we can get on by giving everyone a little bit more."

Granit Xhaka scored the decisive goal for the Gunners after half-time after Antonio Rudiger’s own goal had cancelled out Eden Hazard's early strike.

Still, Wenger was less than satisfied with his team’s performance in the first-half.

"We gave them too much respect, too much distance," he said. "We were maybe too scared to go for it.

"We suffered from that. We weren't in the right positions on the pitch in the first half, we rectified that and took control of the game in the second-half.

"In the first half we watched them play a little and they strolled through our lines, but in the second half we were tighter. The midfield came in the game more and we started to dominate."

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