Without a doubt, Alexis Sanchez is an incredible talent.
Since arriving from Barcelona in summer 2014, the Chilean has ripped apart Premier League defences on a regular basis, amassing 44 goals and 19 assists in 87 top flight appearances.
This season alone, he’s netted 15 times – propelling himself to joint-top of the scoring charts and Arsenal to second in the league table, albeit still some distance behind pace-setters Chelsea.
Yet, the winger-forward’s future at the Emirates Stadium remains unclear as his contract saga continues to rumble on, with his current terms due to expire at the end of next season.
That essentially puts an ultimatum upon the Gunners come the summer; either buckle to his demands, allow him to leave for a decent fee or face the prospect of losing him on a free transfer in summer 2018.
It may not be a particularly popular opinion – in fact, quite the opposite – but we reckon selling could prove the smarter move for the Gunners. Here are three reasons why.
Giroud the real go-to man this season
To put it simply, some goals are worth more than others. And although Sanchez leads Arsenal’s scoring charts by quite some distance this term, it’s arguably the ever-unsung Olivier Giroud who’s had a bigger impact on their campaign, despite often having to settle for featuring from the bench.
Indeed, the Frenchman has netted once every 84 minutes of league action this term, whilst Sanchez’s return stands at 125 minutes-per-goal. Perhaps more significantly, Giroud’s bagged two out-and-out winners and two equalisers, whilst five of his goals have put Arsenal into a lead they’ve eventually held onto – very impressive for an overall tally of just nine. Sanchez, meanwhile, has claimed just the one winner, against Burnley on Sunday, and one equaliser.
We’re not arguing that automatically makes Giroud a better player or a more dependable goal threat, but it does suggest Sanchez may not be as pivotal to the Arsenal cause as some fans think.
Attitude problems
Sanchez’s attitude is a bit of a paradox. On the one hand, most managers would kill to have a player who hates standing around in training to the extent he does push-ups instead, who detests being subbed off even though he’s the star man and who usually puts in an incredible shift off the ball.
On the other hand, however, Sanchez’s determination can leave somewhat of a sour taste. We’ve all seen how the South American can react when he’s substituted and although some may deem that refreshing, it doesn’t set a particularly good example for Arsenal’s young players.
After all, football is a team game and whilst Sanchez’s team spirit can’t be questioned, there is an inevitable element of selfishness to sulking after being brought off. Arsene Wenger’s decisions, whether right are wrong, are made for the good of the team and Sanchez’s strops suggest he doesn’t always respect that.
Already 28
Sanchez performs with the energy and athleticism of a young whipper-snapper straight out of the academy. But having turned 28 in December, how long can the Chilean really go on for in that manner before age inevitably catches up with him?
Wingers don’t tend to have the longest of shelf lives anyway and Sanchez has been playing football regularly since his teenage years, already amassing over 600 appearances at club and international level. To put that into perspective, Robert Pires managed just 616 throughout his entire career – and he stopped playing in 2015!
Combine that relentless exposure to senior football with Sanchez’s ferocious and explosive style of play, and logic suggests a few injuries could severely impact the tenacious attacker’s career at the very top level. Of course, he’s got the technical quality to adapt should he decline physically, but do Arsenal really want to hand him a long-term contract with such potential danger on the horizon?