Football: Time to Cash in on Alexis Sanchez?

Arsene Wenger owes a lot to Alexis Sanchez. The Arsenal manager half-shocked everyone by signing a new two-year deal after a strong end to the Gunners’ season and most would agree that the season was saved for Wenger by Sanchez’s brilliance in key games including the FA Cup final.

The South American forward has been linked with a move away from the club throughout the season, with rumours suggesting he has had a fall-out with the Arsenal manager. But contrary to the general opinion that Sanchez is Arsenal’s key man, I believe the striker/ winger was often as guilty as other players for giving the club a poor 2016-17.

Statistically he has had a fantastic season with 24 goals in the Premier League but he was unable to convert in seven of the eight games against the top four clubs. That is an alarming stat for an apparently world-class front man, and even more importantly if Alexis had not been playing Wenger would probably have changed tactics and direction.

With Olivier Giroud and Lucas Perez sitting on the bench, Wenger had three very different types of strikers at his disposal, and he could easily have rotated them to try various strategies to break down the bigger teams.

However the Chilean star has a habit of enforcing his own rules on the pitch and his ability to close the ball down often convinces fans that he’s the right man for the job. And a close look at Alexis Sanchez’s career at Udinese and Barcelona, as well as in north London, shows that he has struggled in games against the better opponents.

From a tactical perspective Sanchez could have been left on the bench in tougher games or played out wide. From a financial perspective, the ex-Barca man is going to cost any suitors around £45m, which is about 50% more than the £30m Arsenal paid in 2014. He will turning 29 half-way through the coming season and I firmly believe he has already played his best few years, so cashing in now would be the right move from Wenger and Co.

It may be a move the fans don’t want to see but it is an exit that Arsenal needs if it wants to push players who have huge potential such as Danny Welbeck and new signing Henry Onyekuru, both of whom will be overshadowed by the bullish ego of Sanchez if he stays. Look at Marcus Rashford, who has only been able to shoot to stardom by having a chance to play first-team football and become the “main man”. Arsenal fans need to accept that they may be in for a slight transitional phase after a season in which they failed to qualify for the Champions League.

That is a phase that every club needs to go through if it wants to progress and it is probably one that will help Wenger realise that he will indeed have to step down as Arsenal’s manager after two decades as the boss.

Where to? Manchester United or Chelsea would be more than pleased to have him.

 

by Nubaid Haroon  YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCtMg-fWm7awR41vM1GhVOkA  Twitter: twitter.com/rambofyi

 

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