Wenger dilemma over Sanchez as hectic Xmas fixture looms
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WITH a hectic Christmas fixture list looming, Arsenal manager faces a dilemma over prize asset Alexis Sanchez.
The Chilean forward, a marquee summer signing from Barcelona, has been a shining light during Arsenal’s disappointing start to the season, scoring 14 goals in 22 appearances for the north London club.
Loathed to rest the 25-year-old as Arsenal continue to play catch-up in the Premier League, Wenger is also wary of burning out a player who has almost single-handedly kept his side in touching distance of the top four.
Arsenal faces Stoke City today, a physically testing away fixture it has struggled in over the years, and assuming he is selected Sanchez will be playing his 28th game of the season for club and country.
“He is in the red zone, you can see that when he plays, but he can dig deep,” Wenger told reporters yesterday.
“I think he played his 27th game on Wednesday since the start of the season, if you consider the international games and the travelling on top of that.
“Unfortunately you never know how far you can push a player. We are not scientific enough to predict that completely, but he has a great recovery potential. He recovers very quickly, is always sharp and wants to play.”
Sanchez has already made himself a firm favorite with the Arsenal faithful and his late winner against Southampton on Wednesday underlined his importance to the club.
While full of praise for Sanchez, Wenger does not accept that Arsenal is a one-man show.
“On the goalscoring record, you can say (Alexis) is dominant, but in the game of course not. But in goalscoring, he is the dominant figure,” he said.
“He has a huge desire, no complex, and has a fighting attitude that means even when he misses something it doesn’t affect him. He’s very mobile, very determined and he has the sense to be in the right place in the box.”
Sanchez’s work ethic has impressed his teammates, too.
“In training he doesn’t even want to do recovery days,” striker Theo Walcott said in the Daily Telegraph.
“That’s how much he loves football. All the guys have told him he needs to chill out because, at Christmas when all the fixtures come along, it’s going to catch up with you.
“He doesn’t care, he just wants to play and win. He’s a good leader, and something that we haven’t had in the Arsenal team before. He’s a dream to play with.”
Winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain concurred.
“There is no rest for him. On recovery days he wants to be playing and he is not happy if he is not allowed to play the game at the end of training,” Oxlade-Chamberlain said.
“He has brought that winning mentality to the side and it definitely rubs off on a lot of players.
“It has been an eye-opener for me. To make it to the top and to be able perform like he does week in, week out, you have got to be an absolute winner and you never want to lose at all. He is not happy when he does not score. If I had scored as many goals as he has at this stage, I would be over the moon.”
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