Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez Hands Down Best Player In Premier League

Arsenal has a true superstar in Alexis Sanchez and he can back it up in every way, shape and form. He has become the best player in the Premier League.

Arsenal signed Alexis Sanchez in 2014/15 and it has been a process. He has been fantastic no matter what, but he is now reaching the pinnacle of his abilities, as he is showing that there is not a single weakness in his game.

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So much so, that when you start talking about who the best player in the Premier League is, you have to include Alexis. And, by process of elimination, you should end up with Alexis at the end of that argument.

The stats are making it an easy argument. And you can’t pull the ‘he’s new here’ argument that was used in the 2014/15 season when he first arrived.

Alexis leads the Prem in goals, yet he doesn’t even crack the top five in shots. He has more assists than any of the other top ten goal scorers in the league and ranks fifth in the league in that. He creates more chances than anyone else in the top goal scorer list and ranks fourth in the league.

There is no stat for effort, but if there was, he would win. Defensively, there is no better coverage down the flank.

Naturally though, you have to think about the competition. What other names would you include in the conversation?

Kevin de Bruyne certainly belongs. Eden Hazard has to be mentioned. Diego Costa, Sergio Aguero and even Mesut Ozil have to enter the conversation as well.

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But statistically, the only ones that come close are Costa or de Bruyne, and both of them have their limitations.

The strength in Alexis is his lack of limitations. The man does it all. He creates, he scores, he assists, he dribbles, he defends. I think that Kevin de Bruyne is the closest to Alexis in the conversation, but he doesn’t score and his consistency still isn’t there.

Ability-wise, though, he’s definitely up there. Eden Hazard, who pipped the award from Alexis in 2014/15, is getting back into form, but every single major stat finds him behind Alexis. So you can’t logically say that he is any better.

As much as it pains me, Diego Costa has to enter the conversation too, but like Hazard, it’sin his limitations that Alexis takes the lead. He is a fighter and a scorer but is he a tried and true passer? Can he take control of a game and do it all himself? No.

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There may be some blowhards out there that think that Alexis is not yet world class. But statistically, he is the best player in England. When you watch him, there is no one better.