Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez Weathering His Own Personal Storm

Arsenal subbed off Alexis Sanchez against Swansea City, which is always dicey, and it may have reminded us that the Chilean has his own problems to deal with.

Everyone on social media had it pegged when Arsenal subbed Alexis Sanchez off in the 79th minute and the Chilean proceeded to sit by himself on the bench and, for lack of a better word, pout. They said that this was going to give the media something to talk about. No doubt it will, but for the sake of throwing another voice into the fray, that’s not what I am here to talk about.

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I am here to talk about another problem that Alexis may be having. And while nothing has been said about this specifically, I can’t help but wonder if it isn’t playing a bit of a part in Alexis’s melancholy status.

To put it simply (even though it isn’t a simple matter) Alexis has been replaced. He had become the front man at Arsenal, the center of attention.

There was doubt if that position was right for him, but he put the doubts to bed, as in 20 appearances, he scored 14 goals and added nine assists. Hard to argue with that return. It’s very Sergio Aguero like.

But it wasn’t enough to stave off the return of Olivier Giroud, who has scored in every single game he has started in. He has even started to convert his ever-improving passing abilities into assists. So much so that he is creating assists at a better rate than ever before in his career.

In the process, Giroud has become a much more complete striker than we would have ever thought possible. At 30 years old, he keeps improving and he has pushed Alexis back out into a wide position.

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I don’t see it as a slight on Alexis. I don’t see it as a demotion or a step down. But it’s clear that Alexis might. And it’s also clear that he needs to figure out how best to utilize this role again, because starting out wide this year, his goal contributions have not been the same as starting up front.

But that doesn’t mean that he can’t get back there. When he first broke through for Arsenal, he was out wide and he was scoring freely. With his work rate, he can make his left wing position into a second striker, No. 10 and left wing back as well. He has that ability.

I can understand why it would make Alexis frustrated though. Instead of being fielded in a position where he can look up and see the goal, now he has to look up and see opposing players and options.

If nothing else, it’s like he has been returned to the start. But again, this is Alexis. If anyone can overcome something like this, it’s him. He just has to weather his own personal storm and, in the process, he needs to stop pouting when he is subbed off.

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There, I said it.