Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez rarity makes him worth it

Arsenal are reportedly set to offer Alexis Sanchez £270,00-a-week to keep him out the Emirates. Such is his rarity, the Chilean is worth whatever it takes.

Arsene Wenger has always praised the influence of players. Rather than heralding the influence of tactics and systems, formations, angles, and distances, Wenger has professed that football is played by players, and it is players that determine the results of matches. That is why, for Arsenal and for every other club, great players are so crucial and so precious.

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Great players score goals, create chances, defend consistently, no matter the role that they are instructed to play. They will go beyond the realms of the norm to create something beautiful, something that managers cannot manufacture on the training ground and few other of their teammates can replicate on the pitch.

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But not only is their influence substantial and vital, but they themselves are extremely rare. There are perhaps no more than 10 or 15 players in the Premier League that have the ability to consistently create and score goals out of seemingly impossible situations. Thankfully for Arsenal, they have one in Alexis Sanchez.

The Chilean was involved in 34 of the Gunners’ 77 Premier League goals this season, scoring 24 and assisting 10. His overall involvement in goals was bettered by only Harry Kane and his goal tally is the best by any Arsenal player since the days of Robin van Persie. His success, though, has taken place under the cloud of a quickly expiring contract, and there have been significant reports linking him with a move away from the Emirates this summer.

That is the expected result of his time in North London. He has grown visibly frustrated, has delayed contract talks on a number of occasions and now faces a season without Champions League football if he were indeed to stay. Wenger, though, is, per reports, still willing to pay his star attacker rather significant wages, with £270,000-a-week being the latest figure to be banded around.

Whether that is indeed true and what will come of those talks if it is true, only time will tell. But it does lead me to ask the question: how much Alexis Sanchez worth?

Well, for Wenger, and myself, a player of his overall quality and influence is worth paying whatever is necessary. Great players are greatly needed, and he is most certainly is a great player. If he were to leave, replacing him would be no easy task, no matter the transfer kitty you may be buying with.

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Simply put, there are only so many players in the world that can provide what Sanchez does, and it sometimes doesn’t matter how much you have to spend, if the supply isn’t there, then there’s nothing to spend it on. That is why keeping hold of your own, no matter the cost, is of the utmost importance.