There is no doubt whatsoever that Arsene Wenger did a great bit of transfer business when he signed Alexis Sanchez for Arsenal this summer. The Chile international striker is already off to a flyer, reaching double figures in all competitions and netting an incredible seven times from his first nine games in the Premier League.
But can he really have the amazing influence for the Gunners that Luis Suarez had for Liverpool in the last couple of seasons, especially the last one where the controversial Uruguayan nearly led them to the title? The two strikers are being increasingly compared with each other, perhaps because the signing of Suarez by Barcelona was the major reason for Sanchez coming to north London and the fact that Wenger had tried to sign Suarez from Liverpool the previous summer.
But there is more in common with them than just that. As our midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain said the other day, Alexis has the same qualities of desire, determination and a relentless work ethic to go with his undoubted ability. And he might not have had quite the same scoring record in recent years, but he is two years younger and he was played out wide in Spain and everyone was second fiddle to Messi.
Maybe being the main man at Arsenal is helping. He has certainly settled right in at his new club and seems to be loving his football. Now we have some key players like Walcott and Ramsey coming back and as Alexis and Welbeckâs understanding continues to grow, could the Chilean really inspire Arsenal to go on a title challenging run like Suarez did with Liverpol?