Arsenal: Catching up with the January exits

Alexis Sánchez to Manchester United (Swap for Mkhitaryan)

Alexis Sánchez was eager to leave Arsenal and left in shadowy circumstances to Manchester United. Despite the circumstance in which he left the club, he should be remembered fondly. He was an incredible player for the club and was perhaps the best player in the squad for the past three years. He is a truly unique player, in skillset and attitude, and it might be some time before fans are able to cheer for a player who has a similar verve and presence on the field.

Swapped for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, his start at Manchester United has not been as smooth as he may have expected. At United, I feel his energy is dampened, which might be an indictment on the amount Arsenal weighed on him to create a cutting-edge, but might also have something to do with José Mourinho’s stoggy tactics. He has started in every single game since the move, but their disjointed form and behind-the-scenes drama has taken the shine off Sánchez’s transfer. So far, he has tallied two assists and one goal in seven appearances.

A player of Sánchez’s stature is expected to hit the ground running, especially if they have Premier League experience like Sánchez does. However, United are a very different team compared to Arsenal, and it is already clear that Mourinho expects all his players to track back and defend, which was something Sánchez often had the luxury of not doing at Arsenal.

He is still getting used to his new teammates, but there is reason to believe that he is not suited to play with the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford. Sánchez is a well-rounded attacker, who can make a pass and beat his man, but he isn’t a singular talent, like Lionel Messi or Neymar. He thrives off creative movement from his teammates, which Arsenal had a lot of. His new teammates are very static without the ball; whether a function of Mourinho’s tactics or their natural playing tendencies, Sánchez has often been left waiting for forward options to play off of. Rashford and Martial are known for their ability on the ball as dribblers and Lukaku is a striker who seldom runs in behind.

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Sánchez will have to figure out how he can impact matches within a less fluent system and adapt to different teammates with United. With his ability, there is little doubt that he will figure it out sooner than later.