Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez Passion A Precious Commodity

Alexis Sanchez was clearly enraged at Arsenal’s 3-3 draw against Bournemouth. His exuberant passion is a precious commodity for a seemingly lethargic side.

The reaction of Alexis Sanchez throughout Arsenal’s 3-3 draw with Bournemouth on Tuesday night has produced a whole lot of discussion and debate centring on the possible detrimental effects on the rest of the team that his outbursts, often aimed at someone in particular, can have.

On school of thought derives from the team-above-all philosophy, that no player, however gifted, however important, however influential they may be are bigger than the team. The team comes first and there is no uncertainty, no compromise on such a stance.

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But, what happens when the team is in the wrong and the player who is potentially causing the rift is in the right. In his post-match press conference, Arsene Wenger, when asked about the reaction of Sanchez and whether it could become an issue, heralded his passion, stating that is something that ever team needs:

"“Well, what is surprising there? You want to win the games and when you don’t win, you are unhappy – it is normal. Of course. Without passion, you do not come back after 70 minutes from three goals down in the Premier League. First of all, it is exceptional, it doesn’t often happen in the Premier League and you need a special response, which is what happened. We wanted to win the game, and we didn’t do that so we are all frustrated. Of course [Alexis is fine].”"

With the Chilean’s contract winding down – he now has a little less than 18 months remaining and would be able to leave the club for a cut price in the summer – his fervent reaction on Tuesday has sparked rumour that he will look to leave the Emirates. Consequently, many who ascribe to the team-above-all ideal suggest that Arsenal would be better off in selling him and looking for a more encouraging, positive replacement.

That is a shortsighted assessment of the situation.

The unrelenting passion that Sanchez brings is born out of his ruthless will to win. He is a winner and he is very unhappy if his team does not win. The Gunners, in recent history, have rightly been criticised for failing to cultivate a winning culture. Selling Sanchez would simply bow to the historic pressures of losing.

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The Chilean is an essential piece of the Arsenal jigsaw. He led the line with great success earlier in the season, has enjoyed the same success on the wing in recent weeks and is a spearhead for the desperation to win that is needed to win the league. Selling him would be wholly detrimental. His passion is a precious commodity that would be difficult to replace.

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