The big talking point for Arsenal fans today, along with the speculation about the future of Arsene Wenger, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, is about the latter and why he was left one the bench at Anfield yesterday in a Premier League match that could prove crucial as to whether Arsenal finish in the top four or not.
The boss has spoken about tactics and power in the air but I for one am not buying that. One of the only reasons I can think of for leaving your best player on the bench is to keep them fresh for something else and the Gunners do have the visit of the German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich coming up in a couple of days.
So is that why Wenger left Alexis out of the starting line-up against Liverpool? If so does that mean he really believes that we could turn around the 5-1 deficit from Munich in order to progress to the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite club competition?
Maybe he does or he at least wants to give it our best shot because he may not be managing Arsenal next year and the Champions League is the competition which Wenger would love to win to complete his trophy legacy in north London. 5-1 though?
Arsenal would need to score four goals against Bayern without reply and even Alexis at his peak would need every Arsenal player around him to be the same and we would need a healthy dollop of luck and a hugely below par game from the Germans to achieve that.
Do you think this Champions League match is behind the benching of Alexis? Does the boss really believe Arsenal can go through?
Bob.