Will Sanchez will be our ‘new’ striker?
Arsenal Wenger has suggested something that absolutely none of us will want to hear, as it seems that he has slyly ruled out the signing of another central striker, in favour of a player already on our books – Alexis Sanchez.
When faced with the conundrum of who to position up front last Sunday against Liverpool, in Arsenal’s opening Premier League fixture, Wenger decided to go with Alexis Sanchez over Theo Walcott. Today it looked like he was letting the two take turns of being the frontman. Realistically the pair were the only two players Wenger could choose from if he wanted an experienced frontman, as Giroud and Welbeck are both of course unavailable. As for Akpom or Sanogo, it would’ve been even harder to see the Gunners line up with either one of them upfront. The only issue is that out of the pair that Wenger had to choose from, neither have much ‘experience’ so to say of leading from the front line, but the thing is, Wenger sees both Sanchez and Walcott as strikers for Arsenal.
Wenger previously came out to say that he firmly believes Walcott’s future at Arsenal remains upfront as a striker, after Walcott himself said he would much prefer to establish himself again on the wing. Now in another turn of events regarding transfer targets, whilst Lyon’s Lacazette is netting goals left right and centre, with a hat trick and two goals in his last two games, Arsene Wenger now suggests he may just convert Alexis Sanchez to a striker.
When Wenger was asked if Sanchez’s future could be as a striker at Arsenal, Wenger said: “I think yes. I think it is worth to try as he has the quality to go behind. On the flanks he uses a lot of energy by chasing back and I would like to use his energy sometimes a bit more efficiently by going behind the defenders as he is a good finisher. He has played centre forward at Barcelona. He is technically top.”
What Wenger says is very true in the sense that he has the ability to play up front as a centre forward, because he does it successfully for Chile when he goes back on international duty. However notably Alexis works with another centre forward when with Chile, as he also did on the occasion he played as a frontman at Barcelona. However at Arsenal, Wenger is likely to put him up top as a solo striker and being alone up front is something I think he struggles with. Sanchez largely failed to make an impact in the Liverpool game and was much the same today, chasing loose passes and he wasn’t really able to get into the game. Sanchez does have a good eye for goal, there’s no doubt about that, but a winger is not as closely marked as a centre forward and Sanchez doesn’t have the physical presence to challenge all of the league’s top central defenders.
Is Wenger sneaking out of doing another deal in the transfer market or do you think Sanchez could be converted to a striker at Arsenal?
By AH