Arsenal: ‘Necessity’ Has Nothing To Do With Alexis Sanchez’s Future

Alexis Sanchez has become a huge part of this Arsenal side, but to say that the club must maintain him because he is a ‘necessity’ is a gross exaggeration.

Arsenal has been told by many to just pay Alexis Sanchez whatever he wants because the team cannot live without him. While I do somewhat agree with the principle of paying him just about anything, I don’t believe that the team will shrivel and die without the Chilean.

In fact, I don’t think that factors at all into his future. It is so much more complicated than that. Alexis is not the camel carrying the entire team on his back. He hasn’t been for quite some time.

That said, selling him is a terrible idea for a whole slew of other reasons. It’s not about whether the team needs him of not. It’s about what it would take to compensate for his departure. Like any big player, exits leave voids that, if not properly accounted for, can fester.

Arsenal would know. Cesc Fabregas in particular comes to mind when we think of players that left voids that were just never filled.

That is my major concern with Alexis leaving. There just isn’t an easy way to cope with his departure. No matter how you spin it, no single player would fill the void, which sets the club back massively, not just in funds, but in chemistry.

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That is what this all comes down to. Sure, the team isn’t grossly dependent on Alexis. But when you think about how much they would have to reroute their resources into accommodating for his exit, it’s more of a headache then it needs to be.

Thankfully, Arsene Wenger is incredibly confident that the dynamic Chilean will sign a new deal. At the very least, the big time rerouting that we would have to do will be put off another year, as Le Prof has refused to sell Alexis, preferring to see him go on a free in 2018 than selling him now.

You have to somewhat admire that, because I can’t help but think that Wenger sees the exact same thing. Alexis can be replaced, just not easily. And in the current market, the options aren’t exactly screaming out to be claimed.

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The safest bet is to just hold onto Alexis for as long as humanly possible and let the team continue to grow around him.