Why the biggest loser in the Sanchez-Lemar debacle is Manchester City

In one of the British media's most distasteful traits, its baying scribes and microphone-thrusting interrogators are wont to kick players and teams when they're down. Arsenal, with a midfield unable to dangle a foot to rob possession and a defence that folds when Laurent Koscielny isn't stiffening its core, is ripe for a kidney punch from behind.

Just blaming the Gunners for the collapse of Alexis Sanchez's departure and Thomas Lemar's arrival is an oversight, though. Invitingly sticking out its chin and holding its gloves lower than Conor McGregor is Manchester City, deserving of an uppercut for a pursuit which smacked of arrogance and blind naivety.

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Affectionate embraces between Pep Guardiola and Sanchez after the December and April meetings of last season fuelled rumours that, with the Chilean entering the final year of his Arsenal contract, a move to City was inevitable.

City officially lodged its interest in May, according to The Telegraph's James Ducker, and conversations continued throughout the summer between chief executive Ferran Soriano and Arsenal counterpart Ivan Gazidis. The response from north London was always that Sanchez wasn't up for sale, but City monitored developments as it embarked on a spending spree amounting to around £220 million.

As for Sanchez, his apparent preference was to reunite with Guardiola, who signed him for Barcelona in 2011, and join a club more likely to mount a serious title challenge. That also came with the benefit of competing in the Champions League, rather than pitting himself against FC Koln, Red Star Belgrade, and BATE Borisov in the Europa League's Group H.

Then, following an injury that conveniently kept him out of the spotlight in the early days of this season, Arsenal's hold on an unhappy Sanchez loosened. In those weeks before the window swung shut, City didn't submit an official bid. The club's transfer brokers were presumably looking to capitalise on the Gunners' need to receive some cash for Sanchez in the latter stages of the window, but in doing so, made a grave error by waiting until as late as Tuesday to table an opening bid.

Arsenal - which, in the same window, deemed £52 million too much for Lemar before returning with a £92-million bid on the final day - cannot be relied upon to conduct business, especially up against a looming deadline. Perusing the bigger names in the world's game will reveal that, through Arsene Wenger or the club's excessive deliberation, many were an option for the Gunners before they thrived elsewhere. Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gareth Bale, Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure, and, last summer, Kylian Mbappe all slipped through the net.

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Then there was the lapse in considering Lemar's future. The winger had begun the season in explosive fashion, tallying two assists and wreaking havoc down the left flank in Monaco's opening four league matches. June's shock 2-1 defeat in Sweden had encouraged France manager Didier Deschamps to dispose of some national-team players he'd been loyal to, and Lemar was heading into his first competitive start for France when his phone buzzed with news of a fresh approach from Arsenal. Things were going well for Lemar, and his focus was solely on representing his country - he rejected Arsenal's overtures, and rightfully so.

An unburdened Lemar went on to score twice in Thursday's 4-0 demolition of the Netherlands.

Leaving things so late, and thereby leaving the fate of Sanchez's switch to Manchester in the hands of floundering Arsenal, was sheer stupidity. City's belief that financial muscle and a relationship with Lemar's employer Monaco (after landing Bernardo Silva and Benjamin Mendy from the French side earlier in the summer) could spin the transfer merry-go-round suggested an arrogance similar to the one that scuppered Barcelona's approaches for Philippe Coutinho. Except that City, with two league titles at the start of its 10th season enjoying petrodollars from Abu Dhabi, is still far from Barca's standing.

And if the Citizens' title challenge falls below Manchester United in May, the criticism won't be levelled at Guardiola alone. Soriano and Txiki Begiristain, brought in for the Catalan-flavoured revolution at the Etihad Campus in 2012, let the full-backs age before finally spending money on that department this summer, and have left the central defensive slots backed up by an unwanted Eliaquim Mangala and raw youngster Tosin Adarabioyo in this campaign.

Most critical, however, could be the attacking. Like last season, City's forays forward in 2017-18 have so far been blighted by indecision and a lack of incisiveness. Sanchez could've addressed that and introduced a win-at-all-costs mentality to the dressing room.

Instead, Begiristain and Soriano spent the last few hours of the transfer window bemoaning what could've been. It may take time for the pundits to realise, but over the next few months City could be outed as the biggest loser in the Sanchez and Lemar saga.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)