Arsenal have had to put up with more than their recent share of hapless wingers over the last few years.
Yes, Theo Walcott has come a long way this season, but for how many years have Arsenal fans had to watch him run into defenders? How often have we seen young Theo make a bad decision because his feet were quicker than his brain?
Then there’s the likes of Alex Hleb, whose passing lacked precision, Andrey Arshavin whose career is all but over and even the Ox, who seems to have hit a speed bump in his development.
The less said about Gervinho, the better. Heck, even Aaron Ramsey, everybody’s favourite scapegoat, has spent some time out on the wing.
I think this is an area where Arsenal can improve. The Gunners should have better options to call upon than Gervinho and Andrey Arshavin.
This brings me to a recent Daily Mail story that claims Arsenal are monitoring Alexis Sanchez’s situation at Barcelona. That’s right – this is the same player who was once considered to be one of the best young talents in the game. A player who would have cost Arsenal an absolute fortune a couple of years ago.
Indeed, in 2011, Barca spent £22m to bring him over to La Liga from Udinese.
Now he’s 24-years-old and is in the middle of a rather ineffective season in Barcelona colours. He has a nervousness in front of goal that has frustrated Barca fans. And yet it’s clear that he can still dive into his bag of tricks when necessary and pull out something spectacular.
He’s a flair player, who can beat his man, turn on the after-burners and get into dangerous positions.
It’s also thought that he’d be better suited to a club like Arsenal, than Barca. His former sporting directorat Udinese, Fabrizio Larini shares this opinion:
“Sanchez needs to play the ball on the ground, just like Arsenal. That would be his ideal game. I do not know his current situation at the Spanish club. But his fitness problems have definitely limited his performances.”
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