All you need to know: Alexis Sanchez
The Alexis Sanchez saga has continued to spiral across the internet this winter. Gianluca Di Marzio reported that Manchester City and Arsenal have reached a deal for Sanchez including a £13 million a year contract. However, it is believed that the Chilean has two choices; he can sign for Manchester City in January with Arsenal receiving £20 million and Sanchez getting a £15 million signing bonus or he signs for free in the summer, earning himself a whopping £30 million as a signing bonus.
Evaluating option 1
Option 1 seems to be more realistic for Arsenal as they’d receive some compensation in exchange for their star player. It seems evident that this is the move they should agree on as Arsenal are in for a lacklustre second half of the season. With their league chances being extremely slim and having been knocked out of the FA Cup on Sunday, they really only have the Europa League and Carabao Cup to challenge for, both of which are seen as ‘second tier’ competitions. Furthermore, Alexis will be able to join in with City’s promising Champions League campaign, which Arsenal was unable to qualify for.
On the flipside, the question is whether Sanchez can fit into the current Man City side? As things stand, City are arguably the best team in Europe and would Guardiola being willing to ‘change what isn’t broken’? Leroy Sanè, the current first-choice wide man, has been a crucial ingredient to Guardiola’s winning recipe. Sanè plays as a left-footed winger allowing him to drift outside before sending in a bullet cross into the box for his teammates to finish. Sanchez is right footed and prefers to cut in and shoot on his right, this may not work under Guardiola. Sanchez was one of Guardiola’s marquee signings back at Barcelona in 2011, showing his great appreciation for the Chilean’s game.
Arsenal’s primary stakeholder, Stan Kroenke is known to be financially driven and in the past has been notoriously known for sacrificing club success for monetary gain.
Evaluating option 2
What seems like a farcical offer may not seem all that worthless after the following are considered. As mentioned earlier, Arsenal is really only competing in two competitions this year, the Europa League and the Carabao Cup. With many big clubs in the Europa league this year, such as Atletico Madrid, Napoli, Borussia Dortmund, Lazio and Lyon, Sanchez may come in handy towards the latter stages of the competition as Arsenal may require their best team to get past these European giants. Furthermore, their midweek Caraboa Cup semi-final takes place against Chelsea, another side who could pose a real threat to Arsenal.
Throughout the remaining six months, Arsenal does have potential to salvage their season by winning the two cups and finishing in the top 4, securing a spot in next years Champions league. Though it seems unlikely, there is always the possibility that things change at Arsenal and we see Sanchez put pen to paper on a contract extension, that sees him at the club for longer.
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