Alexis Sanchez: Is He Losing His Form for Arsenal?

It wasn’t long ago that Alexis Sanchez was being called a “one-man squad” at Arsenal. He was scoring every match and it really was a situation of him not doing anything wrong. He was the best signing of the summer and it was absolutely remarkable how quickly he had settled into one of the hardest leagues for outsiders to settle into.

However, in recent matches, the Chilean mastermind hasn’t exactly been scoring at the same rapid pace that he had been in the earlier parts of the year. Since his perfect performance against Stoke City, Alexis has scored zero goals and only assisted on one.

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The easiest answer is that he’s in a rut. Everyone goes through ruts. I did notice that in Arsenal’s most recent match against Everton, he seemed to slow play down, which is unlike him. If you recall, back in November Arsene Wenger actually benched him because of how much he held up Arsenal’s play style.

It was just a case of Alexis trying to do too much, and he may be falling into a similar situation here. Back then, he really did try to carry the back on his team, and he was successful at it. But now that the team doesn’t need to be carried by him, those tactics of trying to carry the team aren’t going to be nearly as effective.

But maybe that isn’t the case. According to WhoScored.com, Alexis’s game ratings are still right at his season average over his scoreless drought. So while he may not be netting, his team mates are, and given his position, he is always involved.

Several Chilean newspapers are on the panic-wagon as their poster child’s drought continues.

El Mercurio said (per IBT):

"Alexis played the full 90 minutes without too much shine. He started on the left side, then went to the right and to the centre of the attack before finishing as the number 10. He was incisive but, as it happened since the start of 2015, coinciding with a knee injury and the return to action of Ozil, who is overshadowing him, he failed to make the difference as he used to do during the first part of the campaign."

La Tercera blamed his ‘fading’ on another Gunner, this time on Olivier Giroud, saying (as quoted again by IBT):

"Olivier Giroud, missing during much of 2014 [due to injury], has overshadowed Sanchez a little bit inside the area. Now he is doing a role as an assistant while the French hitman tried to go straight to the net."

Statistically, the two Chilean sources have a point. Mesut Ozil, since the Stoke City match, has scored three goals and assisted four. Based on WhoScored.com’s player ratings, he’s exceeded his season’s average performance in all but one match. He’s also playing the full 90 minutes now, something he never did in the past.

Olivier Giroud has been exceeding expectations as well, excluding the Monaco debacle. Six goals and three assists since Alexis’s scoring drought began is enough to steal some of the spotlight from the prolific Chilean.

Alexis Sanchez may be feeling a tad inadequate, although unnecessarily.

HITC Sport quotes an interview that Alexis had with Fox Sports where he discussed a problem he’s having with training: “I want to train even more, though Wenger won’t let me. I will listen to him as he knows best.”

Has Alexis Sanchez Fallen Out of Form or is Arsenal Just Getting Better Around Him?

By Josh Sippie | Mar 3, 2015

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