I think it is high time that the Arsenal fans get off the back of Alexis Sanchez, even though the Chile international has probably still not changed his mind and will leave our club, whether it be for nothing at the end of the current campaign or halfway through this season when the winter transfer window opens in the new year.
The fact of the matter is that the decision to stay with Arsenal or not is his to make and in the mean time we just need him to perform. It looked for a while as though his heart was not in it and for that I do not blame Arsenal fans for not being happy with him.
In the last two games, though, against West Brom and Brighton, Alexis has sparked into life and started to look like the brilliant player we know he can be and who had such a big impact for Arsenal last season. If the Gunners are going to get anything good out of the current season then Sanchez is probably going to be the key, as the stats in a Metro report show clearly.
Arsenal would probably have beaten Brighton anyway, as Monreal had already given us the lead, but it was a sublime bit of skill in the box by the Chilean which gave Iwobi a clear shot on goal for the second and that made life a lot easier for the rest of the match.
The numbers show that Alexis and his 24 goals and 11 assists has, since the start of last season been involved in twice as many EPL goals for the Gunners than any other player. So we need him and we need him to be happy and playing well for as long as he is still and Arsenal player.
Could he even make the difference between success and failure this season?
Bob.