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Arsene Wenger Ready to Rush Alexis Sanchez Back to Arsenal?

By Josh Sippie

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Arsene Wenger has made many statements about the importance of Alexis Sanchez to Arsenal. But even if he did not make the statements, it is pretty obvious how important the Chilean mastermind is. He single-handedly kept the team afloat when Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil sustained their injuries and despite fading upon their return, he still proved an invaluable member of the team.

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But one potential problem that was always lurking around Alexis was the fear of exhaustion. It is pretty clear that he keeps himself in peak physical shape but it is also slightly less clear that he is human, and human’s get exhausted. Wenger had spoken about how he was hesitant to rest Alexis because of how vital he was to the team.

Now, with Alexis Sanchez having brought Chile their first Copa America in their 99 year history, Arsenal is facing a season opening without their star man. He was given a month vacation that will see him return on August 3rd. Arsene Wenger has indicated that it takes three weeks to get back to match fitness.

That being said, ESPNFC reports that Wenger may have different plans with Alexis. Three weeks for Alexis? No way. “It could take him a little bit less time [to get match fit] but he’ll miss our first game,” Wenger told reporters.

This is a curious situation because we all know how much Wenger wanted to rest Alexis and a month is a healthy amount of time off, but how much of this early return of Alexis has to do with Alexis Sanchez actually being ready and how much of it has to do with Arsene Wenger being both unable to sit him and unable to convince Alexis that he needs more time off?

Most likely, it is a combination of the two.

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Wenger has also made mention that Alexis is a hard guy to sit simply because he does not want to sit. He lives football. During the 2014 World Cup, the Chilean National squad always had one day a week off from training. On those days, Alexis would train by himself. He has no off days.

On the other side of the token, I do not think that Arsene Wenger should worry too much about being without Alexis. This is a very deep and versatile Arsenal squad that can dismantle opponents in more ways than one. While Alexis is arguably our most deadly option, we still have ample resources to win if he needs an extra match or two off.

Arsene Wenger knows his players best. In Wenger we trust.

Next: Axel Witsel the man for Arsenal?

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