Arsenal debate – How to cope without Alexis Sanchez?

About this time tomorrow I expect every Arsenal fan in the world, or those that are awake at least, to be crossing their fingers and toes in the hope that the Arsenal Player of the Year Alexis Sanchez comes through the Copa America final without picking up an injury or even a little knock.

Even assuming that he does though, we still know that Arsene Wenger will have to prepare the Gunners for the start of the season without him. I have read articles in the paper saying that the players involved in the tournament should be given a good three weeks holiday before joining up with their respective clubs but Wenger said before the end of the season that he would give the Chilean striker four weeks, probably because of the heavy season with Barcelona and then the World Cup finals before he signed for Arsenal.

So we are looking at having Alexis back with us at the start of August. That means he might arrive in time to see us take on Chelsea in the Community Shield but he will have missed the pre-season tour of Asia and the Emirates cup and will probably not be ready to play until the Liverpool game on August 24th, so how will we cope without him.

It could be a straight swap with Danny Welbeck, as the England striker is used to playing on that left flank and he does offer the tracking back and work rate that Alexis gives us and that could be important, especially against Chelsea.

But Wenger has a habit of playing midfielders like Ozil, Ramsey and Wilshere in the wide areas. How about the Ox? He is the player that, for me, took the example of Alexis’ game on more than any other Arsenal player. What do you think Gooners?

Tags ox Ozil welbeck

13 Comments

  1. I said this before in a similar post, he should only be missing for 3 games or so barring any injuries (god forbid) I think we have adequate cover till her gets back. Obviously its great to have him in the team but he’s played a lot of football over the past 2 seasons and deserves a break. Anyway I’m hoping for some good investment in the next few weeks. I’m buzzing for the new season missing match of the day so much man. Hopefully the emirates cup can me a quick fix till westham

  2. we were called a one man team last time but we poroved the media wrong am just relaxed i cant wait for the new season, chelsea fans are worried about arsenal and so are the matures

  3. Did we not already dismiss this issue as mostly hype in another recent article? Seriously? Again?

    Arsenal will likely miss Sanchez for a week or two at the most? Oh my, what a tragedy.

  4. With Walcott and Chambo back, we have plenty of players to rotate with Alexis. I have a feeling Wilshere and Wenger is working putting him as a DM playmaker like Scholes.

  5. If Ox is healthy probably either him or Welbeck. Wilshere was a disaster last time he played there (was better on the right). Cazorla can play there, and may play on the wings more often as Arsene will look to feature Ramsey and Wilshere more often through the middle if possible. Also, Ozil is actually quite good there. Won’t help the defense much, but he will provide width and a solid threat out wide. Also, Akpom if he isn’t on loan, Campbel or Silva if they are around. Any other youth players ready to make the jump?

    We have options. A lot of them. We CANNOT replace Sanchez in the lineup, but we should be able to cope for a 2-3 weeks.

  6. Honestly, there’s no way we r nt going to miss him. A comitted nd dedicated player he is. Hwever, wld hav prefered him to be line up against Chelsea in Community sheld, if nt for anythn bt for d fact dt Ivanovic & Cahill wld nt be made to rest nd thereby reducing d attacking strength of Chelsea. Since both Cahil nd Ivan compliment Chelsea attacking force on a normal day

  7. Guys, I know a lot has been discussed about the striker situation. Some realistic observations were the following:

    1. Spend the money and get a world class forward in – Eg:- Cavani

    2. Give Theo a chance- buy a world class right winger who can also play as striker: Eg: Reus

    3. No point buying. We have enough firepower and Welbeck will deliver this season.

    A lot of names have cropped up over the last few weeks for these 3 options. One name which I would suggest is Sadio Mane from Southampton. Assuming we cannot get Reus/cavani, scenario 3 is just not acceptable for me if we are trying to win the League. Mane is not only a) pacy winger but also carries goal scoring threat- b) can easily play the lone striker role- is a grafter much like Sanchez c) shows some moments of genius d) is at his prime and with our midfield may blossom into another Suarez.

    The options in the market are less and in most cases will cost us astronomical sums. If we can get Mane for less than 20 million, I see him having a breakthrough season with our midfield. may be a risk worth taking . What do you guys think?

    1. I like Mane but we don’t need him and he would be a sub struggling for playing time at Arsenal.

  8. le coq was given a chance and made it..belarin did it too…its time for the OX to be given a chance and who knows what competition he may have for Sanchez…?i believe OX has the ability,strength and power to deputise for Alexis

  9. Stop counting Welbeck as a deputy in cases where we have to manage without Alexis. Welbeck is only a not-good-enough bench player. The likes of Ox, Gnabry are far better to use than welbeck.
    On the issue of striker, I keep saying we cannot win any major competition with the top options we have. A 25+ goals striker and a 15+ goals substitute are usually what gives you an edge in major competition. Giroud is good enough as the substitute, now we need the top 25+ striker. Unfortunately, there isn’t much in the market at the moment, plus wenger is always idle on bringing top strikers. So sadly again this season, we have to manage Giroud, welbeck and Sanogoal while we sit tight and watch the elites fight it out amongst themselves.
    @maigari33

  10. Is that the Ox who has 6 league goals in 4 seasons and the Gnabry who has scored once for us? 13 goals between them in 134 appearances. You might hate on DW but not sure where the “far better” is coming from – certainly in terms of getting goals.

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