The Arsenal and Chile international star is almost always among the best performers in the Arsenal side and is very rarely criticised, but he was roundly and quite rightly questioned by us fans as well as the football press after his lacklustre and ineffective showing away to Chelsea last weekend.
Some people have suggested that his heart was not in it but that does not sound like the Alexis we all know and love at all, as his burning desire to win is one of the most notable aspects of his game. Could it not simply be that striker is feeling the effects of a tough and testing season so far?
I remember Arsene Wenger talking about wanting to give him a personal winter break in order to keep him fresh and reduce the risk of an injury but as things worked out Arsenal needed him and he certainly did not get anything like a week or two off.
With the Gunners out of the EPL title race we could really do with the boost of beating Bayern Munich and getting into the quarter-finals for the first time in years, so perhaps now would be the perfect time to give Sanchez a little rest to recharge his batteries. He did look both mentally and physically jaded to me at Stamford Bridge and we do have plenty of options up front, with the likes of Lucas Perez, Danny Welbeck and Olivier Giroud fit and keen to play.
Time to pull Alexis out of the firing line for a week or so do you think?
Bob.