Alexis Sanchez shows true colours as Arsenal and Man Utd both go through in Europe

Alexis Sanchez has firmed up his allegiance to in a social media post following the Gunners' dominant quarter-final victory over in the .

The north London club in the second leg , winning 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu to secure the 5-1 victory on aggregate over the current Champions League holders. side were impressive across both games, with winning man of the match on both occasions for both his exceptional performances - and incredible two free-kicks in the first game to give a comfortable lead.

Meanwhile, in the , Manchester United showed why their stadium is labelled the Theatre of Dreams on Thursday night. They completed a to win 7-6 on aggregate and enter the semi-finals of the competition.

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Up by two goals at half-time, United fans looked to be cruising to another European knockout tie - but Paulo Fonseca's side had other plans. Two goals in quick succession from Corentin Tolisso, who was later sent off, and Nicolas Tagliafico levelled the game and sent it to extra time.

Then, against all odds, Rayan Cherki and Alexandre Lacazette scored to give the 10 men a 4-2 lead, and it looked like the Red Devils were all but out of Europe once again. However, a battling performance from Casemiro won a penalty - which converted - and the Brazilian maestro assisted twice more as and scored in the dying minutes to win the game 5-4 and head through to the semis.

Sanchez has worn the jerseys of both and United in his time as a footballer, but the Chilean made his loyalties very clear in an post congratulating the Gunners on their stellar Champions League victory.

Posted alongside a photo of the forward playing for Arsenal, the club's badge and a video of the Emirates Stadium pitchside, Sanchez wrote: "In there are loves that you never forget. ARSENAL. La Forma de AlmaSoul."

The latter part translates into 'The shape of soul' in English from Spanish, as Sanchez alludes that a piece of himself will always be with Arsenal.

The 36-year-old spent four seasons with the Gunners after transferring from , making 166 appearances and scoring 80 goals, with 44 assists also tallied to his name. The Chilean won two FA Cups and three Community Shields with Arsenal, and looks back on his time in north London with a clear fondness for the club.

However, the same cannot be said for Sanchez's singular season with United - and he even asked to rip up his Old Trafford contract just one day into his work with the club. He made 45 appearances, scoring just five goals and assisting nine times across all competitions.

Issues with injury stunted his time under at the Red Devils, but the centre forward told his social media followers in 2020 that his time with the club wasn't something he looked back on with a good mind.

Writing on Instagram, Sanchez said: "Before, I had an agreement with Man City, but due to football issues, I accepted the opportunity to go to United. It felt tempting and it was something good for me.

"I liked this club a lot when I was a kid. Eventually, I signed but I didn't ask for information on what was happening inside the club. Sometimes there are things that you don't realise until you get there and I remember the first training session I had, I realised a lot of things."

He added: "After the session I got home and I told my family and my agent: 'Can you not rip up the contract to go back to Arsenal?' They laughed, I told them there's something that doesn't sit right, it doesn't seem good. But I already signed, I was already there. After the first few months I carried on having the same feeling, we weren't united as a team in that moment."

Following this disappointing spell with the once-dominant force in the country, Sanchez departed United and headed to Inter Milan - where success returned. The footballer won two Serie A titles with Inter, as well as a Coppa Italia and two Supercoppa Italiana trophies.

He has since had spells with Marseille, a second stint at Inter and is now at Udinese - where he remains sidelined with a calf injury after just nine appearances this season.

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