Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has rejected the notion that he sent a message to Alexis Sanchez by starting him versus Doncaster in the Carabao Cup but not against Chelsea in the Premier League.
The Chilean was left on the bench against the Blues on Sunday but despite plenty of changes at the Emirates on Wednesday night, Sanchez started vs the League One opposition.
Wenger is adamant he is merely managing Sanchez back from injury though and his shortage of match sharpness meant he couldn't start against the champions.
"There’s no disguised attitude on my side," Wenger claimed. "I just try to get him back to full fitness.
"The Europa League and League Cup is important, I try to give him competition and get him back to his best.
"I gave him a long holiday. He came back not very fit, then he got injured. The injury plus the rest was a bit long.
"I left him on the pitch for 90 minutes so he could have a real go. Sanchez could have played (vs Chelsea) if he was 100 percent fit at the start."
Wenger reiterated his desire to rotate because he has six strikers available to him: Sanchez, Alexandre Lacazette, Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck, Theo Walcott and, likely, Mesut Ozil completing his options to start in a front three.
"I have six strikers," Wenger said. "In one game I go with three strikers, the three that don’t play will play midweek, no matter the competition."