Tag Archives: Alexis Sanchez

Where do Arsenal need to strengthen in January?

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We have to be realistic when it comes to the January transfer window.

History shows that not much business is done in January. That sides will not go out and buy 5 it 6 players. Arsenal have notoriously done little business in January, and I do not expect that to change.

I would be surprised if Arsene Wenger signed kore than a single player.

So what should we buy in January?

Central Defender

After 3 clean sheets in a row in the Premier League, Arsenal conceded 3 against Manchester United.

This follows conceding 3 against Manchester City and 4 against Liverpool.

Whilst we got clean sheets against Chelsea and Tottenham, we have conceded 19 goals in the league this season. That is 10 more than Manchester United and Manchester City. It is more goals conceded than bottom of the table Swansea.

We have conceded 25 goals in 23 games in all competitions. A statistic which is simply not good enough.

With Shrokdan Mustafi limping off against Manchester United, he looks set for a spell on the sidelines for the second time this season.

More worrying is Laurent Koscielny.

The senior centre back made key errors against Manchester United and looked off the pace.

At 32, he has been managing a long term Achilles problem, and playing 3 times in a week looked to be a step too far for him. Maybe he is on the wain?

A commanding centre back will take the pressure of Koscielny to play every game, and improve a problematic area of the pitch.

Defensive Midfielder

How long have we needed a commanding defensive midfielder for?

We have not had a world class player in this position since Gilberto Silva left in 2008. And not had a specialist in that position since the first incarnation of Matthieu Flamini at Arsenal.

2 seasons ago we had the straight choice between Granit Xhaka and N’Golo Kante. At the time we picked Xhaka due to his superior passing. It looks like a massive mistake.

Back then, I thought Xhaka was an inspired signing. He had the grit and aggression, but could also play a bit.

In hindsight – and Football is very easy in hindsight – we went for the wrong man.

Xhaka has not settled in the Premier League, and looks slow and ponderous on the ball. Signed for his Ball playing ability, he gives it away too much and has been at fault for many goals due to his poor passing.

He is clearly not suited to the deep lying position in the Premier League and is struggling with the pace.

I imagine in Spain or Italy, where you get more time on the ball, he would shine. He should also potentially play higher up the field, like he did for Borussia Monchengladbach and for Switzerland.

Out poor defensive performance this season is not just down to the defence, but also down to the midfield.

Xhaka does not give the defence enough cover, and his sloppy play has led to many goals conceded. He is not the solution to our defensive midfield problem.

Sanchez / Ozil Replacement

Both will leave us this summer.

Sanchez has been awful recently.

Getting one replacement in January reduces the pressure in the summer and means one player has been at the club, in English Football, for 6 months.

Not much else to say on this one as we all know both need replacing.

So which position do you think we need to strengthen in January?

Keenos

What has happened to Alexis Sanchez?

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Arsenal lost. That’s it. We were already out of the title race before yesterday. The defeat changes nothing.

A disappointing loss in which Manchester United were clinical in their finishing – 3 shots; 3 goals – and Arsenal were simply wasteful.

We actually didn’t play too bad, but came out of the game with no points and the feeling that we were taken apart. As a mate said to me – no point talking about how well we played, how we put the pressure on. We got nothing from the game.

One player who was particularly bad was Alexis Sanchez.

When Sanchez and Ozil became “contract rebel’s” before the season started, a lot of people ran twitter polls on who they would rather stay.

The unanimous result was Alexis Sanchez. That fans felt that no matter what his situation was, he would perform, as he “loves playing football”.

Meanwhile Ozil was a lazy play who did not care.

Roll on 4 or 5 months and the feeling is much different. Everyone is now #TeamOzil.

It helps Ozil preformed terrific against Spurs, and in the defeat against Man U he was easily the best player on the pitch, but the reality is Sanchez has been poor this season.

Even before this season, I have been highly critical of the Chilean.

He is selfish, he is slow on the ball, he is greedy, he gives the ball away too often, he is a poor passer.

He often makes up for his deficiencies in goals – who cares if he gives the ball away 10 times in a game if he scores 2 goals?

Who cares if he is greedy if he bends a couple into the top corner?

The problem is when he isn’t scoring, his flaws are exposed. The flaws which led to Barcelona letting him go on the cheap.

People used to say Mikel Arteta’s legs have gone. But what for Sanchez? He no longer looks as quick, as sharp as he once was – this is his 4th season at Arsenal.

This is a player who is playing for a club for the 4th year in a row for the first time in his career.

How much has his contract affected him?

How much has failing to make the World Cup affected him?

Sanchez is not the same player as he once was. Maybe we should’ve let him go in the summer?

Keenos

25 Superstars Available on a Free Transfer in Summer 2018

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“In the future, you will see that more and more, players going to the end of a contract”

That was Arsene Wenger’s prediction about the future of the transfer market when asked about Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez’s contract situation over the summer.

At the time, a lot of people, mainly Arsenal fans, laughed at the comment, seeing it as an excuse from a deluded old man who was trying to justify his two best players running their contracts down.

“Transfer [fees] become so high, even for normal players, no one will want to pay the amount of money that is demanded. I’m convinced that in the next 10 years it will become usual.”

Just 5 months on from this comment and Sanchez and Ozil are looking more and more likely to be moving on a free transfer. And as predicted by Wenger, they are not the only ones:

Keenos