Arsene Wenger tried to smooth over the Alexis Sanchez furore during his Champions League pre-match press conference on Monday night by claiming he was “not aware” of any bust up between the Chilean and his Arsenal teammates.

The Independent revealed on Sunday night that Sanchez was dropped to the bench for the 3-1 defeat to Liverpool after a row with a teammate which led to him walking out of a training session before continuing the argument in the changing rooms at the Gunners’ London Colney base.

Wenger and Sanchez were pictured shaking hands on Monday morning at training and of the incident, the Frenchman said: “I’m not aware of it. Nothing happened.

Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez in numbers

“Yes, completely false, but I understand that you have to feed the newspapers and we respect that.”

He maintained that his relationship with his star player remained “honest and normal” but, with only 15 months left on his contract, it is becoming increasingly likely Sanchez will be sold in the summer.

If he is sold, there will be a large transfer fee and a healthy wage packed to be spent on a new player to replace the 28-year-old.

Whether Wenger is still in charge himself or not, a big name replacement will be the only way to soften the blow of Sanchez’s departure.