After Arsenal struggled through the end of 2015 and the start of the new year with a pretty heavy injury lost, we all got excited when players started to come back to match fitness and one player in particular was seen as the possible saviour of the season and the man to spark a strong sprint for the line in the race to win the Premier League.
But apart from his first start back in the side when he inspired the Gunners to an FA cup win over Burnley, the comeback of Alexis Sanchez has been distinctly underwhelming so far. I did think that the Champions League clash with his former club Barcelona this week might have brought the best of the Chilean forward but once again Alexis could not find the form that we have been used to in his first season and a half as a Gunner.
Arsene Wenger was asked about the striker in the press conference ahead of the away game at Manchester United and as reported by Arsenal.com the boss feels that it is nothing to worry about. As well as the fact that players sometimes need a bit of time to really get going again after a spell on the sidelines, Wenger pointed to the proven desire and determination of the Chile international to suggest that he will not continue to be below par for long.
Reading between the lines, though, I also think that the manager was suggesting that there might be a bit too much individual pressure on Sanchez to be the star man and if the team starts to perform better as a collective unit it will help him to perform.
Wenger said, “Yes because he’s a highly motivated player and I believe that he’s conscious of it as well. He wants to do even better. Let’s focus on the team performance and after that every individual will benefit from a good team performance.”
Do you think it is just a matter of time or do we have a bigger problem on our hands?