Does Perez hat-trick mean Arsenal can rest Alexis Sanchez?

Arsene Wenger has already spoken this season about his wish to give the Chile international the sort of winter break that he used to get at his former clubs Barcelona and Udinese and which is the norm in just about every other league in Europe.

The problem is that Alexis Sanchez has become such a vital cog in the Arsenal side that it is hard for the manager to leave him out for one game, never mind a couple of weeks. We do have the French centre forward Olivier Giroud but his abilities are much different to the Chilean’s and so even though he is a good option who has been in good form he is also a very different one and the Gunners would have to change our current playing style.

Maybe the boss was hoping that the summer signing from La Liga, Lucas Perez, would be able to cover for Alexis but as of yet the Spaniard has not shown his best form and has been out for a while due to injury. His first game after recovering certainly did not help Wenger, as Lucas was virtually anonymous and Arsenal were awful as we lost the EFL cup match against Southampton, but last night’s Champions League win at Basel was a totally different story.

So after the new striker bagged a hat-trick against the Swiss champions, could Wenger now give Sanchez that break? Maybe, although the big Premier League clash with Man City takes place in just 11 days. I would think that the manager wants his star striker to play in that but after it we have two weeks until the new year and just two games, both at home, against West Brom and Crystal Palace.

Would that be the right time for Alexis to be given a rest, especially if Perez can push on from his hat-trick and show the sort of form that made us sign him in the first place?

Bob.

7 Comments

  1. Perez/Giroud are enough to beat stoke/everton. Leave Sanchez on the bench just in case we need that different dimension but i wouldn’t start him in any of the upcoming games until the city game. Imagine a rested sanchez against city? that’s the luxury we have this year that we haven’t had in over 10 years, so i hope wenger plays his cards right.

    1. I’d say Stoke is a good chance to rest him. But don’t under-estimate Everton. They’re direct and organized. A style of team that can often cause us problems.

  2. I like your idea of resting Sanchez after the City game for two weeks. Let’s not break the teams new found rhythm before that game by resting him now, unless there is a medical reason to rest him. Better take him of the next few games after the 70 minute if we are winning.

  3. You guys are beginning to tinker with a winning team. We must learn from past mistakes and I think Wenger has shown that this season. Every time we rested Sanchez in the past, he came back struggling for form. Keep the winning team going; keep your best players on the pitch all the time – that is how team clinch titles. How many times have you seen Ronaldo, Messi etc rested in the past? How many times did we rest Tierry Henry in his days when we were winning things. Also, dont under-estimate the supposed weak team – they may hurt you; score the goals against them as you never know; goal difference might become the decider. I will substitute when necessary after game is secured…but I will start all games with my best players. Keep Sanchez On(KSO)!

    1. You are right, we never rested Thierry Henry when we really should have. Many times I watched him and thought he looked burnt out from playing match after match. I think that’s one of the reasons that team didn’t reach the heights they should have.

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