The Tasmanian Devil of the Chilean variety. A goal-scoring machine. Beast mode. Take your pick or add some more monikers for Alexis Sanchez because many people would love to know what source of power he is currently running on.
Ever since his move to London from Barcelona, the player who chose to have his first name at the back of his jersey like many of his South American counterparts has blitzed into the hearts of Gooners worldwide. Maybe we love him all the more because he is about the only consistent player in the team at the moment. This is not to say that his obvious quality would not have been appreciated otherwise, but you have to admit that he sticks out like a tireless ball of energy in a team which has always been its own worst enemy.
Despite playing in the Serie A (Udinese) and La Liga (Barcelona) prior to his move to Arsenal and even with an impressive display for his country at the summer’s World Cup, Alexis was expected to need time to adapt to what is argued to be one of the toughest leagues in the world. But as is evident to even a football novice, he has hit the ground running with 8 goals and 2 assists in 10 PL appearances and 2 goals and 1 assist in 4 CL appearances. (All stats from Squawka) The only worry now is him being struck down by the injury gods – *knocks on wood* – or him burning himself out – he will have been reminded by his coach and teammates about the lack of a winter break in England. Theo Walcott recently said that he felt that his Chilean teammate worked “too hard” –
“In training he doesn’t even want to do recovery days … All the guys have told him he needs to chill out because, at Christmas when all the fixtures come along, it’s going to catch up with you. He doesn’t care, he just wants to play and win. He’s a good leader, and something that we haven’t had in the Arsenal team before. He’s a dream to play with.”
Caution is all well and good but I think that instead of holding him back, the rest of our players should take their share of the burden off his shoulders and ensure that he can maintain his stunning current form. I also feel that another key word in that quote is ‘leader’ but I will come back to that later.
The last time an Arsenal team was overly reliant on one individual was when He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named was captain. But at that time the rest of the squad weren’t actively imploding or trying their level best to play their best and worst in the same game. The observation that Arsenal is already too dependent on Alexis may not be completely unfounded. If you look at some of the recent performances, Alexis is the one who is setting an example for his team – 6 goals from his 10 in the PL so far have been the opening goals of the respective games and while he scored Arsenal’s 3rd in the Champions League game versus Galatasaray, he provided the assist for Danny Welbeck’s opener.
A very expressive player, you can see his desire, his frustrations, his efforts in every fibre of his being and that makes him all the more eye-catching, even when he has just lost the ball and is emphatically trying to regain possession. But his style of play also means that he has a tendency to lose the ball more than a lot of others. And this is where we need to emphasise what we want our team to do as a whole. Alexis is an individual, an extremely talented individual who is capable of turning a match on its head, of providing that spark and creating that extra bit of magic when required. But he is also just one player who has been given the freedom of the number 10 role that he desperately seemed to crave back at Barcelona where he was relegated to the wings. Imagine for one second we have 11 Alexis running around like Energizer Bunnies. It just wouldn’t be tactically or strategically feasible. It is fantastic that we have a player of his calibre and ilk wearing the red and white. But what the other players need to do is not blindly follow his style of play. They need to take pointers from the Chilean’s work-rate on and off the ball, his pressing, his tracking back and tackling, and apply that desire to never give up to the requirements of their own positions, to their own personalities and to who they are as players.
More importantly they need to apply that as a team. We cannot afford to collectively crumble like we did against Anderlecht or Swansea. Seniors like Arteta, Rosicky and Mertesacker need to find a way out of their slump in form, youngsters like Wilshere, Ramsey and the Ox need to learn what is best for the team and focus only on that instead of trying to be someone they think the fans want them to be. The return of a compatible player like Theo Walcott could very well boost the team and help Alexis and Welbeck up front. Though there still remains the question of what Wenger will do once Mesut Ozil is fit. How he decides to utilise Ozil and Alexis in the same team without diluting either of their genius could very well decide the fate of our season and whether we stand any chance of retaining the FA Cup and qualifying for the Champions League.
When you have someone like Alexis as an example, it is already easier since you can derive that energy and motivation from him.
“It’s a struggle to adapt. Of all the leagues in which I have played, this is the most complicated. I like the challenge, but it’s not easy. Little by little I am gaining confidence in my team-mates and am gradually learning more. At first I had trouble understanding them, knowing where they ran, their movements, what gestures meant what, but every time I feel more confident. I am starting to memorise the moves of my team-mates and I learn to help them – clearly I need to improve and that is what I say in the dressing room, that I could stay a little less with the ball, play one touch play more often to facilitate counter-attacks, that is vital. I must learn that because the rapid transitions are key in this league and with this team.”
“It makes our job easier when you have a player in his form scoring goals for the team. It’s very helpful, but as well, how he looks after the people around him and [the hard work] he does in every game is something we need to highlight. He gets more highlights with his goals, assists and his tricks, but his hard work and his ethics in every game is very important as well. He wants to get better and better. That’s the way he is.”
– Mikel Arteta
Alexis is only 25 years old with much of his best years ahead of him, and this kind of relentless drive for perfection is what we have already come to expect from him. We can only hope it rubs off on the others. To his credit, he has improved in his crossing and distribution which has always been a bit erratic, even during his days in Spain. After a 69% pass completion rate against Dortmund, he shot up to 82% versus Chelsea and maintained that against Hull City (86%), Anderlecht (95%) and Sunderland (84%) (All stats via WhoScored).
And the Chilean certainly seems like the “glass-half full” sort of guy if his recent comments about his Arsenal team-mates are anything to go by.
“I have been impressed by their attitude and their talent. I tell you seriously: I like what I see so much that I have repeated myself many times, that if we have the required winning mentality, if we are positive and try to win every single game, I know we can win any competition. I know that with this team we can win many trophies in the coming years. I am convinced. I hope to win everything here. That’s why I came.”
This may seem like the talk of just another very seasoned, PR-trained player, but if we know one thing about Alexis already, it is that the guy oozes sincerity and genuineness. Let me reiterate something that a lot of people, including myself, have been saying. Currently more than in any other season in the past few years we do have the players for building a true, world class team (minus a few, essential additions). We do have the raw material, the developing material, the finished products in the same squad, even if some of them are going through a bad run of form (and injuries). What then is the problem?
I think that it all comes down to what Arsene Wenger loves to call the “collective” philosophy. Even at the height of the Invincibles, we had quality and stars who could never have achieved individually what they did as a team. They relied on each other, played for each other and the team and a single player was never more important than the whole. I feel that our frustratingly stubborn at times but still loveable Frenchman is at fault here for not being able to get this current group of players to play together on a consistent basis, or properly utilise the players at his disposal. A problem that I feel is more psychological than anything to do with physical abilities. Even at the height of our togetherness last season we still had moments when we failed tactically and mentally, and that includes the manager. There need to be consequences and accountability when something like that happens. Recent reports talk about Wenger not being good at confrontation. Is this part of the problem?
This is not about one player. Gone are the days when one or two star players could carry a team for the long run. Modern-day football requires you to perform at the top of your abilities week in and week out with the possibility that the slightest of slips will bring down the wrath of the superfans and keyboard warriors on you. There is the danger that you will be instantly discarded and every tiny mistake overanalysed. We need experienced leaders and stars no doubt (and we have them), but we also need a consistent supporting cast that performs at the same high level of their abilities. And we need our manager to start believing in himself and what made him great, which will in turn impact how his players approach a game. We showed that we were capable of a consistent and strong togetherness for large parts of last season including that final at Wembley. We fought and won as a unit, took the blame as a unit and figured out a way to come back, not give up until the end and snatch victory as a unit. That is the spirit our manager and team need to find their way back to. And I strongly believe that Alexis is part of the solution.
Anushree is a part of the @Football_P family. You can follow her at @AnuNande
