Wilshere claims Arsenal sold Man Utd flop who was better than Van Persie

Jack Wilshere explained why he rates Alexis Sanchez above Robin van Persie as he compared the two former Arsenal superstars, both of whom departed for Manchester United.

Wilshere broke into the Gunners first team in 2010 while Van Persie was leading the line to devastating effect, going on to score a career-best 30 Premier League goals in the 2011/12 campaign.

The Dutchman completed an acrimonious £24million transfer to United at the end of that season, leaving Arsene Wenger without a talismanic forward - until Sanchez arrived two years later.

The Chilean joined from Barcelona for £35million and hit the dizzying heights of 24 league goals and 11 assists in the 2016/17 term.

Sanchez subsequently joined the Red Devils in a high-profile swap deal in January 2018 which saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan move the other way.

Who was the better player in their prime: Robin van Persie or Alexis Sanchez? Have your say in the comments!

But unlike Van Persie, who fired Sir Alex Ferguson's side to the Premier League title in 2013, Sanchez never found his feet at Old Trafford and scored a meagre five goals in 45 appearances before joining Inter Milan in 2019.

Given he signed an eye-watering £400,000-per-week contract, Sanchez's disastrous switch to United is widely regarded as one of the worst transfers in English history.

Nonetheless, Wilshere claims the 33-year-old was the superior player in an Arsenal shirt ahead of Van Persie.

"This is the toughest one because they were both unbelievable," the former England midfielder, 29, told talkSPORT.

"I'm probably going to have to say Alexi because I played with him for longer.

"As good as Robin was, he didn't have the pace of Alexi, he was that one player who didn't give us much defensively.

"But it didn't really matter because we trusted him when he got the ball because he could beat someone and win the game for us."

Van Persie left Arsenal with a record of 132 goals in 278 games and an FA Cup winners' medal, while Sanchez scored 80 times in 166 appearances and lifted the FA Cup twice before departing.

The latter scored seven times for Inter Milan last season as they won Serie A under Antonio Conte, and he has three goals in 16 appearances this term.

Meanwhile, Van Persie, 38, retired in 2019 after playing out his career at Turkish giants Fenerbahce and Feyenoord, the club where he came through the academy ranks before bursting onto the scene.

Wilshere clearly cherished playing alongside both players for his beloved Arsenal, and he is continuing to train with the Gunners as he searches for a way back into the professional game following his release by Bournemouth.