Arsene Wenger says he likes playing Alexis Sanchez down the middle because of the qualities he brings to the team, and has also suggested that the more cosseted lifestyle in Europe is affecting the ability to produce the best strikers.
The Arsenal manager tried to sign Luis Suarez last summer and this time around he got his South American man, paying over £30m to Barcelona for the Chilean, and Wenger believes the football culture there is what helps the top forwards in the game develop.
“If you look across Europe and the world of football, then South America is the only continent to develop strikers today,” he said.
“If you look across Europe where are the strikers from? You will see that many of them – at least 80 per cent – come from South America.
“So we have to question ourselves: what can we add to our academies to develop strikers again? If you look at the 60s, 70s in England, even when I arrived in 1996, in every club you had strikers and I mean strikers – those who could head the ball. We have less now. In Germany they went to the World Cup with Klose, who is 35.
“Maybe in our history street football has gone. In street football when you are 10 years old, you play with 15-year-olds so you have to be shrewd, you have to show that you are good, you have to fight, win impossible ball. We have lost a little bit of that in football.”
And having deployed Alexis in a more central position against Sunderland, and reaped the rewards with two goals, Wenger was keen to play up his ability in that area of the pitch.
“Honestly, I like him to play through the middle because he makes good runs. He likes to come to the ball as well because he likes to dribble, so he can play also on the flanks.
“The quality of his receptions is very good – that means his runs are very good. He’s a good finisher so through the middle.”
Nor does he have any worries about him settling in at Arsenal. Reports during the week suggested he was unhappy but those reports stemmed from Metro who might as well call themselves ‘makingupanyoldbullshittogetpageviews.com/wearecunts/andalsowankers’ and their Twitter account should be @weshouldbekilledinthefacebecausewerecuntsandnobodyshouldpayanyattentiontoanythingwesay
“He wants to learn,” said Wenger, “he has a very positive attitude. He takes English lessons. He’s a winner. The integration has been fantastic. We have a Spanish colony, now. He doesn’t sit lonely in the dressing room.”
So glad we got this beast! What a player he’s turning out to be. Hopefully when Mesut is back, he will be spoilt for choice with Alexis and Walcott on the flanks, and Welbz upfront. #COYG
The only player in our squad who has the kind of fight in him that we saw in the invincibles.
Welbz works hard too and when Ramsey comes back to full form and fitness he will definitely contribute.
They all work hard (Flamini seems to work less, I think that may be down to age though) but it’s the mentality that is different, exacerbated by the need to develop the nascent partnerships pretty quickly to get it going.
We have quite a few players ‘out of form’ and as soon as they misplace a pass, the whingers at the emirates get on them so the ‘fight’ melts out of them. Unless the pretend ‘supporters’ actually start supporting the team, Alexis will hit a dip and the fight will melt from him as well. I’m pretty certain that the invincibles wouldn’t have been as successful at the emirates.
If only our fans could learn from Dortmund fans! Their players are in a real confidence slump at the moment but the fans are 100% behind them and the manager.
Legend
The work rate, desire, effort of Alexis has to be admired and needs to be replicated by others. Now smash some claret.
This guy will have a statue made after him one day. Fittingly, he has the perfect torso for it.
Shirtless one please.
On another note. Dan Crowley scored twice today. Isn’t that kid too good to play at the U-21s? Would like to see him play a game for the first team soon. He really deserves that
He does need to start experiencing playing in the big stadia in front of big crowds soon to see if he can handle it.
I have always said that fans always appreciate and recognise hard workers on the pitch. Now he maybe annoying at times because he keeps the ball for too long and ends up losing it. But the determination he shows to atone for his mistakes by sprinting back, speaks to the character of the man. Alexis” the Street Fighter” Sanchez, He’s the man !!
I dunno, the widespread reaction to Ramseys form 2 years ago would tell me that not all fans appreciate hard work in itself.
My mancrush these days. God it’s like having Bergkamp back. Not quite but you know what I mean.
Sanchez was one of the real stand out players during the World Cup and I remember when we started being linked with him I thought it would be the same old story where Chelsea or Man City would come in just to stop him from signing for us. So glad that didn’t happen. He looks the signing of the season – has everything to be one of the very best. I just hope the rest of our team starts to hit their straps really soon so he can see what the Arsenal he signed for is really like. We were… Read more »
Interesting hearing Le profs opinion on street football and the hunger it gives players.
Whatever you may think about his performance lately, the man is a veritable football encyclopedia of knowledge.
The strange part is this: Wenger is a genius of a man. His football knowledge, his ability to grasp key aspects, develop new thinking. A visionary and a footballing guru. But he somehow seems to be stubborn in refusing to admit or accept some fairly obvious facts. The fact that we’d be a powerhouse with one strong holding midfielder added. Or that Giroud is not good enough as a lead man for a top 4 club. He’s great value for 10Mn, but not great value for the expectations that Arsenal fans have and the club has. The point is –… Read more »
He’s a genius but you think you know better….. telling!
That’s the problem we have with too many ‘fans’ who should be supporting rather than second guessing when they don’t have all the facts.
I don’t think one more midfielder would turn us into a powerhouse, as we’d still only have 4 defenders out of their teens.
I’d like one, but it’s REALLY not the issue, hell I don’t even think the lack of defenders is THE issue, it’s more the pissychological problems we have.
A cost effective statue too,knowing we would be using a small quantity of bronze to make a full stature of the Chilean. Wenger would approve.
I’d also like to play with Sanchez down the middle.
*Coff*. Erm. Does Wenger know Spanish? How else would he communicate with Sanchez, like he is in that pic?
He knows like 5 languages doesnt he?
£35m is not a small amount of dosh but I still think we got a top bargain when we signed Alexis.
Didn’t the mugsmashers pay the same amount for Andy Carroll?
I dont really care if he’s played at left back or right centre back (which wouldnt be suprising coming from Arsene) so long he’s on the pitch to give the 100% “workaholicness” (dont know if that’s a word) that he gives in every game…
Take Alexis’ never die attitude, merge it with Ozil’s talent and you’ll have yourself in the greatest footballer ever liveth (Sorry TGSTEL) …
Messi’s shit!
#COYG!
Hopefully the other players will use this complement for Sanchez from Wenger to put in more fight, because the last game some players were like spectators watching Sanchez…anyway hoping for some convincing win tomorrow. Happy Halloween Gunners!
Metro? As in the God-awful freebie that gets distributed in London?
What is the point of sourcing or even referencing stories from that dog-shit newspaper?
No doubt Greg dyke will turn round and say “Arsene is telling lies. There is an abundance of talent from England that are just being overlooked for average footballers across the world.” No Greg English kids just play football on computers rather than the streets these days.
I do think we have the building blocks of a league winning team we’ve just yet to see them fit and in form. Hopefully it will happen in the next couple of years.
I know that we don’t have the top-end strikers like Aguero/Costa/Lewandowski et al, but Welbz, Giroud, Sanchez, Theo and Podolski all bring something different to the table. I really would like to see us set up to play 4-4-2 for certain games. Podolski as a second striker is really good (he played with Klose for so long). We need to find the right formations and personnel choice to bring out the best of these players. If all 4 or 5 were able to chip in with 15 goals a season, with maybe one of them banging in more, it would… Read more »
This is well said about alexis who is forming for the team with nice goals and eagerness to get the ball, with all the team injuries and now jack 10 rested for now, giroud to return theo but ozil injured and our gibbs. The team must look on who is available look at the prem table, clge to welbeck is on form rambo back frm injury in the seventies the statement above is right strikers played in a different rule era, coyg against burnley.
Arsene is spot on about soft arsed modern footballers. Believe it or not, I’m falling out of love with footy a bit. Thought that would never happen. Daft ticket prices. No swearing (this is a football match you bellend!) real fans not getting tickets for finals at the expense of ‘Little Tarquin’s’ day out at Wembley Stadium to watch ‘The FA World Cup Premier Final’. Modern players. Over paid softies, most of ’em. I’m a fat bastard in my forties and I grew up playing in the street, like an urchin of sorts. We all did. Moving the jumper from… Read more »
Frankly, his position is moot cos he plays EVERYWHERE! He is almost like a libero.
We are in some ways playing a 4-4-1-1 with Alexis floating in between lines.
Fantastic player and what a good acquisition by Wenger for 33m quid…money well spent, not that you will hear that line from the media of course or the Arsene out brigade.
😉
I have to agree with the no swearing part. It’s not the greatest thing to see kids mimic the choice language of their parents.
I cringe when I hear 5 years olds shouting “You c**t” towards a player. Or anyone for that matter
good player!