Arsenal: Riyad Mahrez + Alexandre Lacazette = Alexis Sanchez

Arsenal are reportedly set to seal a deal for Riyad Mahrez, shortly after securing the £44 million addition of Alexandre Lacazette. Would the two new faces equal the outgoing one, Alexis Sanchez?

It was clear, as the season drew to a close, that the Arsenal squad was in need of a spruce and refreshing. While the year started in a positive manner, with Arsene Wenger’s side dismantling Chelsea to sit atop the Premier League, the latter half was extremely disappointing, with abject display after abject display compounding the misery that had engulfed the club.

The underwhelming end to the year saw the Gunners drop out of the top four, suffer humiliation in the Champions League and inspire a great uncertainty and anger within the fanbase. As such, major changes are required to the squad, especially if major losses are incurred.

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The most significant of the possible departures this summer is Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean has just a year left on his current deal, has grown visibly frustrated with his teammates, gesticulating at and berating them on the pitch, and is in a position where he can dictate his future given the inevitable demand for his services from other clubs.

If Sanchez was to leave, Arsenal would have to find a suitable replacement. He is simply too important and too influential to go unreplaced. However, such is his exuberant ability, it is difficult to find one player who is able to replicate the same attacking productivity. Sanchez scored 24 Premier League goals, amassed a further 10 assists and impacted games in a far wider-reaching way than the mere stats.

Perhaps, then, it would be wise to invest in two or even three players in an attempt to replace him. Given the early reports, that is perhaps the thought that Wenger has had too.

Lyon President Jean Michel-Aulas revealed that Arsenal will sign Alexandre Lacazette in the coming days, pending a successful medical, while there have been more reports on Monday morning claiming that Wenger is ready to immediately add to the Lacazette signing with wantaway Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez.

If Mahrez and Lacazette were indeed brought to North London, even with Sanchez leaving, it would constitute a success for Arsenal. Without the attraction of Champions League football, it was always going to be difficult for the Gunners to find elite level players that are willing to drop out of Europe’s elite competition.

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However, Mahrez and Lacazette are most certainly players of such a calibre. Losing Sanchez would undoubtedly be a major disappointment. But if Lacazette and Mahrez could be brought in to replace him, then it may be a loss that Arsenal can ride through.

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