Alexis Sanchez- the Chilean warrior setting an example
At the price of around £35million pounds, the purchase of Alexis Sanchez didn’t really ever seem like a risk, a gamble. He had proven himself in two of Europe’s top leagues and looked like a perfect fit for the Premier league. But with vast money being spent elsewhere on the likes of Diego Costa and Angel Di Maria, few would have predicted he would be the standout star come this stage of the season. Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has labelled him ‘the best player in English football’ and the accolades have kept coming in for the man who back in Chile they know as El nino Maravilla (the wonder boy).
As various awards were handed out the other night for the ballon d’or, it was obvious that thoughts would drift onto how the domestic individual prizes might look like come the end of the season. Following a series of impressive performances Alexis has put himself up there as one of the early favourites in the race for the PFA player of the year award. His performances have not only been rich in skill, flair and outright world class ability but they have been performances that have won the respect of the Emirates crowd and others alike. He is tireless, although working hard should be the norm for every footballer, Alexis takes it to another level and it is infectious. The perfect example of this would be Arsenal’s second goal in the game against Stoke at the weekend. He tried to play a ball inside to the onrushing Tomas Rosicky but it was slightly misplaced, instead of moaning and getting downbeat about it, he raced after the ball and won it back before scoring a quite brilliant goal. That goal in itself summed up what Alexis Sanchez is all about; hard work, determination, skill and class in front of goal. It is something we are now becoming accustomed to and he is turning the premier league alight with his special performances.
What has also been noticeable since Alexis has come to the club is his ability to affect others around him. His leadership on the field and tireless running have lead others in the squad to improve their games because of this and it has helped the whole group as a collective. This is different to the example that Mesut Ozil set last season. With him it was more of a case of him literally being there and becoming somebody from the get go that all other players wanted to aspire to be like. He didn’t need to put in amazing performance after amazing performance to win the players idolisation and respect, this is something that I think Alexis has had to do. His performances have been so eye-catching and so brilliant that I think others in the side have thought: ‘I need to raise my game to get to this guy’s level’. This has been clearly apparent in especially Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who is really benefiting from having a player of Alexis’ quality in the team.
He said of Sanchez: “It’s been a real eye-opener; he’s like a Duracell battery. He never stops and never gives in. When you see him close three players down and he doesn’t win the ball back, you are looking at yourself, thinking why am I not there to help my team mate out?”
This whole aspect of hard work and determination has rubbed off on Chamberlain, his pace and ability were never in doubt, but when you match that ability with hard work then you get a different animal altogether. He has clearly bulked up from last season and has thrived on the example set by Alexis; he is working exceptionally hard each game and is lifting his game to higher levels.
He has made the biggest impact at this stage of the season out of every foreign Premier league input ever. This has invariably lead him to comparisons with Arsenal great Thierry Henry. Although he is someway off Henry’s 228 goal record, the Frenchman believes that Sanchez can go onto to be an Arsenal great in the future.
“Arsenal were looking for a player to deliver on a daily basis and they have found one. He reads the game incredibly, as you saw with the goal on Sunday. He scores goals and doesn’t need many opportunities to put the ball in the net. I am trying to think if there has been a better signing in the last five or six years, he is doing extremely well.”
Tactically as a footballer Alexis isn’t too de-similar to Henry. He has shown that he can play either wing, in more of a central attacking midfield role or up front. With the players the gunners currently have at their availability and the fact that a lot of them are injury prone, he is a very important squad player in this case. With the system Wenger likes to deploy it means that Alexis is most likely to be occupied in a wider role so he can accommodate the likes of Danny Welbeck and Olivier Giroud into the side. I think personally his best position is in a wide left attacking midfield role, with him playing as an inside forward. This is because not only is his right foot his strongest but he is a deadly finisher and this position allows him to cut inside onto his favoured foot and score goals whilst also being a threat on the wings with his pace and flair.
He has a long way to go before he is seen in the same light as Thierry Henry but he is becoming a fans favourite amongst the Arsenal faithful and it won’t be long until he has his own nickname, like the one he was previously given in Chile.
