Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez Tantrums Finally Getting Rightful Acclaim

Alexis Sanchez has often been criticized for his tantrums at Arsenal, but finally Thierry Henry has hit the nail on the head.

There has been a ton of talk about Alexis Sanchez’s obvious frustrations with Arsenal. He has been seen throwing up his arms, openly scolding team mates and kicking water bottles. Whether that is because the team didn’t complete an attacking move or because some people forgot to celebrate, it makes no difference.

Some say this is a sign that he needs to leave and that it is corrosive to the club, but I’ve had a hard time seeing that point of view.

Well, finally, someone has seen the truth behind these antics, and that someone is Thierry Henry.

When asked who the leaders on his former club were, the all-time greatest had this to say:

"Definitely Alexis Sanchez. In his own way at times he might be a bit too vocal, or putting his arms in the air. But I wouldn’t have seen that as a problem if I was his team-mate. I will sense that the guy wants to win games, he’s a winner. People were quick to criticise him, I wasn’t one of those guys because I think you have to show some emotion some times."

Amen!

Henry could not be more right.

Both Mesut Ozil and Alexis have had their body language criticized, but there is a stark contrast between the two and Henry has keyed in on it.

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Alexis’s “poor body language” involves frustration at not being better as a unit. As Henry says, it has to rub off on his team mates and make them see that this guy wants to win games. What could be farther from ‘poor’?

Ozil, meanwhile, has “poor body language” that consists of drooping shoulders, lack of effort and checking out.

Decide for yourself which is actually bad for the team. But it sure as hell isn’t Alexis Sanchez.

We have been criticizing, heavily, the lack of reaction from this squad when things go bad, yet we criticize Alexis when he has a reaction. Sure, he can look like a petulant child, but that is pretty inconsequential. The point is that he is effected and he achieves a higher level of frustration when his team mates aren’t equally affected.

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I don’t know about you, but when Arsenal puts together an attacking move and gives the ball away carelessly, I’ve been known to throw up my arms, kick bottles, and yell at no one in particular as well. The fact that Alexis is doing it too should be endearing to the fans more than anything else.

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