Arsenal’s Alexis Problem

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Arsenal’s Alexis Problem

By James Hughes

I’ll start by admitting this: Alexis Sanchez is Arsenal’s best player. There are very few players in the EPL that come close to him (in terms of ability) not to talk of the players in the Arsenal squad. When he signed for the club in 2014, I thought Arsenal got its biggest marquee player since Van Persie. In the following seasons, he proved to be worth every penny Wenger sanctioned to be spent.I’m excited every single time he gets on the ball. He always wants the ball, always wants to be the driving force, always wants to be focus of the attack, always wants to be man to bail the team out of trouble, always wants to be the one who gets the winning goal or pass. Once he has the ball, he always wants to be the one to take charge.…and there lies the problem.Before you start roasting me on this, let me also admit that this season has been his best season; even though he’s yet to break his scoring record from his 1st season. This is mostly down to Wenger deploying him as a central striker (with the aim of getting him into goal-scoring positions more often). His involvement in Arsenal’s goals this season has risen considerably. The experiment worked…for a while.But now, teams have figured him out. They know he will press the central defenders for an error, that he will chase down every lost ball, that he will drop deep when he doesn’t have the ball. All good, but now it’s starting to harm Arsenal.I like when players are used to their full potential. You may not have them in their original positions or positions they spent years training to be good in, but they find themselves giving more than they would give in their ‘normal’ position. A good example is Cristiano Ronaldo; a winger who does more when he occupies the striker’s position.But the thing with Sanchez is that having him up front keeps him away from the rest of the team, which allows opposing players to apply serious pressure on Arsenal’s half of the pitch. He spends a lot of energy chasing down everything and not getting enough. It’s easy to take him out of a game when Arsenal loses the ball and it’s in their half (where they need him even more). Ozil is left alone and could do with Sanchez’s energy around him. When the team gets to attack, Sanchez doesn’t have that physical presence to challenge defenders and create many chances for himself and his teammates. Most times, it’s difficult for him to get shots away.When he plays on the wing, with Giroud/Welbeck/Perez/SOMEONE ELSE up top, I think he sees more of the ball to create chances for himself and his team mates. He can be more effective when his energy is spent hounding full backs and playing through the middle of the pitch when the team is on the counter. He proved this in his 1st season at the club. Plus, Ozil and the midfield will see more of him to work with.He is a fantastic player when he plays WITH the team, not away from the team (being isolated up front). Right now, Arsenal could do with some basics so let’s get him back on the wings, closer to Ozil and the midfield, allow him to press just the full back (who’s very key in the modern game), I believe that the team will be better for it. After watching how well he worked with Giroud and Welbeck against Liverpool, I think I have a good point on this.Later.By Soccerchatterbox

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