Arsenal have been accused of being a one man team this season after the summer signing from Barcelona, Alexis Sanchez, exploded onto the Premier League stage and often saved the Gunners from a poor performance. This happened a lot in the first half of the season and the likes of anti-Arsenal football pundits like Adrian `donkey` Durham and the ever deluded spuds fans used this to claim that we were basically rubbish and the Chilean was holding us up.
Alexis has been fantastic for us but the fact that we have more different goalscorers than any of our Premier League rivals and the fact that we are now playing better and winnin g games with or without Alexis tells a different story. Oh and then there is the theory that the reason we relied so heavily on Alexis was because a lot of other stars were injured.
But I am here to tell you that Arsenal really would have been up the creek without our star striker, but not for the reason that our critics say.
Of course his goals, assists and all-round play have been a massive bonus for Arsenal, but I think Arsenal are benefitting as much, if not more, from his example. What I am seeing all over the pitch from Arsenal players is the drive, determination and refusal to give up that was like a breath of fresh air when the former Barcelona striker first arrived in north London.
The player that I think has most taken on the example set by Alexis is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and it is no coincidence that the young England international is having his best season by far in the Arsenal team. But you can now expect the likes of Welbeck, Giroud, Cazorla and even Mesut Ozil to harry and chase the opposing players when we don’t have the ball. Welbeck today got us both goals from doing it.
So maybe the people who say that we are a one man team do have a point, it is just that there now seems to be a little bit of Alexis Sanchez in every Arsenal player.