Has Alexis Sanchez played his last match for Arsenal?

As Alexis Sanchez trudged off the pitch Sunday, his insipid side thoroughly beaten down by an irresistible Liverpool, it was impossible not to ask the question: Will the Chilean dynamo ever play for Arsenal again, or will his career with the Gunners end on the most sour of notes?

Much of the summer has been spent dissecting Sanchez's travel habits and contract demands, with reports rampant that he has no desire to remain at the club; it's been the predominant theme of Arsenal's off-season.

What started as typical rumblings surrounding an excellent footballer whose contract is approaching expiration quickly ballooned into a distraction. Will he - and, to a lesser extent, Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - put pen to paper, or remain in limbo until leaving for free?

The narrative was incessant. And it's certainly not slowing down now.

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After an extended break due to his involvement in the Confederations Cup, and then an abdominal issue that further delayed his debut, he finally made his return to the pitch for Arsene Wenger on Sunday.

It lasted only 62 minutes.

An hour filled with misplaced passes and no cutting edge, it lacked his usual dynamism, and, of most concern, was littered with indifferent reactions from a player who usually runs himself into the ground.

When he was replaced just after the hour mark in what eventually devolved into a 4-0 shellacking at the hands of the Reds, many suggested it was the final time anyone would see the 28-year-old in an Arsenal kit.

With the transfer window closing in the coming days, the likes of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain - the two clubs most heavily linked with a move for the versatile attacker - are running out of time to grant Sanchez what he seems to desire: a new challenge.

Has Sanchez waved goodbye to Arsenal? Perhaps that's the best possible outcome for everyone involved.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)