Having joined from
Barcelona in a £32 million deal earlier this summer,
Alexis Sanchez has threatened to become a fan favourite at
Arsenal after scoring two sensational goals. But how successful has the transfer been, and what does the future hold?
Sportmasta takes a look...
Were it not for the simply staggering displays of James Rodriguez
for Colombia there would only have been one undisputed star of the World
Cup. Alexis Sanchez lit up the competition with Chile, scoring twice in
four games and inspiring his side to within a hair’s breadth of the
quarter-finals.
Many praised Arsene Wenger for subsequently
signing one of the stand-out players of the finals but the truth is that
the Frenchman anticipated the then-Barcelona winger’s fine
performances, with a delegation flying to Spain to negotiate the signing
of Alexis in May.
Liverpool were also keen – Brendan Rodgers
later claimed the player snubbed a move to Anfield as he did not want to
live on Merseyside – but Arsenal soon emerged as front-runners for his
signature and tabled a £32 million bid in July.
Yet it was the
personal touch from Wenger that sealed the deal. While Ivan Gazidis –
the club’s chief executive – and Dick Law, their chief negotiator, were
also involved in talks, Wenger made a personal plea to Alexis’ agent as
he attempted to gazump his Premier League rivals.
In fact, Wenger had been tracking Alexis since his European
breakthrough at Udinese, and later explained that he was attracted to
his versatility.
"He made a great impression in Italy - I saw
him there and he was really outstanding,” he said upon completing the
deal. “I like the fact he can play left, right, up front and that's why I
went for him.”
The deal itself was announced in July to a
tidal wave of Twitter hashtags, and ushered in a raft of new recruits
for the club. Indeed, Mathieu Debuchy was acquired from Newcastle just
seven days later, with Wenger dipping into the club’s freshly stocked
cash reserves to embark upon a spending spree designed to turn Arsenal
into title contenders once again.
Coupled with the £42.5m
signing of Mesut Ozil 12 months previously, Alexis was signed to make
maximum impact – a marquee player designed to strike fear into the
hearts of opposition defenders. He may not have hit top gear just yet,
but his staggering volleyed goal against Manchester City and his
exquisite free-kick in the 2-1 League Cup defeat to Southampton hinted
at what is to come.
Blessed with explosive pace and a keen eye for goal, Alexis was
initially signed on the belief that he could be converted from a winger
into a striker, a la Thierry Henry. Yet he has been almost exclusively
used as a right winger so far this season, following the repeated injury
setbacks suffered by Theo Walcott and the patchy form of Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain.
While familiar with such a role, the
presence of Mesut Ozil on the opposite flank has made things difficult;
Alexis no longer has the ability to wander in a fluid front three, and
is instead forced to hug the touchline before cutting inside.
YET TO SPARKLE | Alexis' stats are solid, but are they good enough for a £32m signing?
At Barcelona he was allowed to roam and would dovetail superbly with
Lionel Messi and Neymar. Two-footed, Alexis is good enough to play on
either flank or through the middle but he has so far struggled to shine
in a red shirt, with the disaffected Ozil partly to blame.
His
need to move inside and switch positions often is evidenced by his
woeful crossing statistics; of the 19 he has attempted this season, none
have found a team-mate. In six games, he has won just 38.5% of his
duels, while his 75% hints that his ideas are not quite coming off.
Yet goals are the currency of football and his two strikes so far have
seen him become something of an icon among the Emirates faithful. His
strike against City was a stroke of pure genius, his volley leaving Joe
Hart grasping at air as it flew into the top corner. His fist-pumping,
eye-bulging celebration spoke volumes of his desire to be a hit in north
London, while his world-class free-kick against Southampton evidenced
his class and panache on the ball.
But Wenger is not fully
convinced. Despite making the Chilean the second-most expensive signing
in the club’s history the Gunners boss dropped him against Aston Villa
and Tottenham after taking exception to his inability to release the
ball quickly, thus disrupting Arsenal’s passing rhythm. Despite scoring
against City he attempted 46 passes across the 90 minutes, with an
accuracy of just 61%. By comparison, Ozil played 48 passes, but with a
much higher completion rate of 81%, recycling possession effectively in
order to keep Arsenal ticking over and moving forward.
Despite
Alexis’ status as one of the club’s best players, Wenger sounded a note
of caution back in August, warning that the forward was not yet
physically ready for the challenge of the Premier League following his
exertions in Brazil. "He is not ready physically but I am not worried
about him," he said, after the star turned in an ineffectual performance
against Everton at Goodison Park. "Once he will be at his best
physically his confidence will come back."
It remains to be seen
if that confidence will remain, if he continues to be the subject of
doubts from Wenger and his coaching staff.
Alexis signed a “long-term contract” on his arrival in north London
and the deal was supposed to signal the beginning of a new, cash-rich
era at the Emirates Stadium.
Alexis and Ozil are the
figureheads of this new model. Yet both must do more, with Alexis guilty
so far of over-indulging when the ball comes to his feet, and he has
yet to truly get to grips with the rigours of Premier League football.
In six appearances he has completed the full 90 minutes just three
times.
Despite his muscular frame – his build would seem
ideally suited to the rough and tumble of England’s top-flight – he can
struggle to best the most physical defenders in the league. See Sunday’s
ugly clash with Branislav Ivanovic for evidence, when Alexis appeared
to aim a punch at the Serbian after the Chelsea man brushed him off the
ball.
Yet understanding comes with time and he will surely
adjust to his new surroundings. Despite the instant acclimatisation of
the likes of Diego Costa and Angel Di Maria, foreign players must be
given something of a honeymoon period, however expensive their signing
eventually proved to be.
Once he has bedded down, however, much
will be expected. It is rare that bona-fide stars arrive at the
Emirates and Alexis must soon prove his worth. On signing, he outlined
his intention to help the Gunners “win as many titles as possible” but
when the stats are stacked up, he does not feature in the top 10 for
goals, assists, key passes, or chances created (either from open play
alone or including set pieces).
That will concern Wenger, who
is famously frugal. The Frenchman will expect a significant return on
his £32m investment and, with Arsenal winning just four of their opening
12 games, Alexis must start paying that figure back soon.
The Chelsea manager claimed the striker's lack of involvement since
international duty was down to the way he was handled by the national
side, which Juan Jose Garcia Cota denies
The striker's alarming loss of form indirectly led to the axing of the
Big Boss and is a riddle that Amodu Shaibu needs to unravel if Nigeria
is to defend her Afcon crown in 2015
May 19, 2012. Chelsea had finally won the Champions League after almost a decade of near-misses.
