Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez Demonstrates Wenger’s Desperation

Arsenal may have shoe-horned Alexis Sanchez into the striker role, which proves that Wenger may have been in a fit of desperation.

Arsenal‘s striker situation is not as settled as we would have hoped coming out of the summer transfer window. Adding Lucas Perez would have seemed to make it a three man race, with Danny Welbeck a contender on his return.

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Unfortunately, it has not worked out that way. Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud are going toe to toe for that starting role, indicating that perhaps Wenger didn’t do his job in the summer after all, as no first team contender for striker was brought in.

In fact, we can take this conclusion even further when we consider Alexis Sanchez’s latest admissions.

Apparently the story goes that Wenger asked Alexis to play the position, at which point the Chilean studied videos to learn how to play the position.

And just like that, he was a starting striker on one of the best teams in the world.

Some may call it an inspiring story of grit and hard work, and you can definitely find that meaning here. But you can also see a very haphazard experiment that showcases how desperate Wenger had become.

To entrust that starting striker position to someone who had to someone who has to study the position itself isn’t the end of the world, but when you expect him to know the position by the time the season starts – all of a few weeks later, then you are getting into some dicey territory.

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Alexis has done a good job with the position, but he hasn’t been perfect. So much of what made him a potent midfielder is still holding him back as a striker. Mainly his insistence on dropping into the midfield to find space.

I get that Wenger was in a tight spot. That much is clear. Lucas Perez was the best he could do, which left the team in a bit of a pickle. They didn’t have a single healthy striker with experience ready to go when the season started.

Again, it worked out fine, so don’t take this as me complaining that we should have done things differently. It’s merely a reminder that we haven’t exactly solved anything. I still don’t think Alexis is best used up front and with Giroud’s increasing age and Welbeck’s questionable striker attributes, there are too many questions.

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A striker is still needed. And I don’t think it is Lucas.