Report: Sanchez leaves team hotel to speed up Manchester United move

Alexis Sanchez bid farewell to his Arsenal teammates just before 11 p.m. GMT on Friday ahead of an expected switch to Manchester United, according to The Mirror's John Cross.

The Chilean is no longer expected to feature in Saturday's match against Crystal Palace despite being named as the spare man in Arsene Wenger's matchday squad.

Sanchez's late exit from the team hotel is intended to accelerate his transfer to Jose Mourinho's lot after United was alerted by his inclusion in Wenger's party. Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who is expected to move the other way, is understood to have said his goodbyes, and will not play for the Red Devils in Burnley on Saturday.

Some accounts suggested that Sanchez and Mkhitaryan would be involved in a straight-swap deal or player-plus-cash arrangement, with the former's valuation gradually lowering due to the expiration of his Arsenal contract at the end of the season. This kind of transaction is extremely rare in English football, and talks predictably broke down over the players' valuations and confusion over looking into two separate contracts. Instead, it's likely these respective moves will be concluded via two different transfers.

Arsenal hopes to draw a line under the protracted Sanchez saga, bring in Mkhitaryan, and then focus on other targets. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been heavily linked to Arsenal following more disciplinary issues at Borussia Dortmund, with Olivier Giroud representing a potential makeweight in the deal.