Arsenal: Riding The Alexis Sanchez Rough With The Smooth

Alexis Sanchez was visibly frustrated when he was subbed off in Arsenal’s win against Swansea City. Arsene Wenger must ride the rough with the smooth.

Arsenal were four goals to the good, the game was over and Wenger was looking to the future demands that the season will bring. In a double move, he brought off the recently returned Mesut Ozil and the effervescent, almost to a fault, Alexis Sanchez to give them a little rest and avoid the chance of injury.

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Ozil accepted the decision, walked off, took his place on the bench beside his teammates and took on refreshments as he continued to watch the game. Sanchez, meanwhile, became recluse, sat on his own, sulking at not being allowed to see out the rest of the game.

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It is a reaction that has stirred quite a debate. Some have heralded his desperation to win, praising such an attitude that in no uncertain terms has been painfully absent from his teammate’s makeup in recent years. Meanwhile, others have chosen to lambast his actions, stating that it does not show solidarity with the rest of the squad, isolating himself within what is meant to be a team-first sport.

Arsene Wenger has stated in the past that Sanchez gets upset when he is taken off. He is so, uncontrollably passionate to play that, even in games with little meaning that have all but ended, Wenger must be assertive in hauling him off the field.

I am unsure of what to feel regarding Sanchez’s sulk. On the one hand, he shows an attitude that Arsenal have been severely missing for many many many years. On the other, his team were 4-0 up, with Sanchez himself scoring the fourth thanks to a cool, poacher’s finish into the top corner. Claiming that he was angry at being subbed off because of his win-at-all-costs character is an argument that doesn’t seem to quite have legs.

Arsenal had, bar the final whistle going, won.

Moreover, the man who was coming in place of Sanchez was Danny Welbeck, someone whose entrance into the game should be celebrated. Sanchez, if he was a true team player would have been championing his replacement, not contorted into a coil of chagrin.

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I am not yet criticising Sanchez for his behaviour. I am merely detailing the conflict surrounding him. He is still the spearhead of this side, both tactically, technically and emotionally. He drives them forward with his sheer force of will, but is he pushing them from behind as well?