Arsene Wenger says Arsenal benefitted from Alexis Sanchez playing simple and with focus as the Chile international helped himself to a match-winning brace against Crystal Palace.
The 29-year-old took his tally for the season to eight with two second half strikes helping the Gunners to a 3-2 win that keeps their Champions League qualification ambitions alive.
After a number of below-par performances in recent weeks, Sanchez was noticeably tidier in possession, something that his manager appreciated.
“I felt he was very good tonight, from the first minute on he was focused, he was simple again,” Wenger told his post-match press conference.
“This kind of Alexis is a good player, we know him and that’s the kind of performance you want from him.”
Unsurprisingly, the subject of Alexis’ future also came up. The striker will be free to sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club from Monday and Wenger admits he’s not sure what will happen when the January transfer window opens.
“First of all nobody knows what will happen and it’s always difficult to speculate. At the moment we are focused on the short term, the short term is win the next game with the players who are committed and ready to fight.
“It’s not a guarantee how long you will stay somewhere – as long you are somewhere you give your best.”
It was reported earlier in the week that Alexis was spotted in Paris over the Christmas break giving rise to suggestions he could be about to move to Paris Saint Germain.
“That’s true,” replied Wenger when asked if the player had visited the French capital.
“We had two days off on the 24th and 25th that was public, but he did not go to Chile. He met his family somewhere but not in Chile.”
When he plays like that (which he hasn’t done much of lately to be fair but he did an awful lot of during his first three seasons) it makes me realise again how much we will miss him. I know a lot of people think Ozil will be a bigger loss than him if or when they both go but I just can’t see it. Alexis’ loss will hit us much harder for me.
Agree. Lacazette will be the only goal scorer in our starting XI.
How? You think losing them 2 will make wenger buy more cbs? Or replace them?
He only buy midfielders and play them out of position or keep them on the bench.
But…
Lacazette has scored 8 goals this season
Giroud has scored 7.
Alexis 6.
Per minutes played, probably Giroud is MOST efficient.
Lacazette’s goals all from the league.
Last year Giroud topped the European charts for goals scored per minute played. Supersub!
We will miss the creativity of Ozil more than the goals of Sanchez. The Asernal system makes strikers and any player in that position to be prolific.Remember even Adebayor excelled to the point of him thinking he was in the mound of Henry! The creativity of Ozil is difficult to find. Remember Bergkamp and fabrigas
As well as scoring 30 goals last season Alexis had more assists than Ozil. It’s about both scoring & creating and Alexis is more of a threat when you count both. I know which one of them would scare me more as a defender.
Wonderful player that he is, I can’t agree that Alexis is a more important asset for us than Özil.
Özil was here for the 2013-2014 season. We scored 99 goals over all competitions, finished fourth and won the FA cup. Since Alexis arrived, we’ve hardly done any better. In fact, last year we dropped off the fourth spot for the first time (since the Big Bang), and the team’s togetherness seems to be at the lowest level I’ve seen.
I regret that we didn’t get rid of him, in return for some serious dosh last summer.
Alexis and Wenger both OUT.
You like talent as a down vote baiter.
I meant, you lack talent…
Lol at this article being categorised under “Arsenal Women”
Loving your user name mate! Catbiscuits indeed. I think that will be my go to exclamation when watching the Gunners ship goals for fun and my kids are around. I.e., “CATBISCUITS! WHY are they watching that striker traipse into the box unmolested again!”
Simple and focused, what you talking about Arsene ? I would have left him out the day he decided he wanted to leave the club, we are where we are because the man only decides to play when he wants too, you can see that the camp is divided and yes there are players there that need to go, I for one is counting the day Kroenke and Wenger both leave the club so we can surface again, I remember the years when there were only two or three clubs fighting it out , the Like of Man Utd and… Read more »
Arsenal didn’t win the league from 1971 to 1989, and were not always fighting it out.
You done played yourself homie
I’m confident we won’t lose Alexis and Ozil on a free simply because if we decide to keep Alexis and Ozil post Jan then there is a risk they’ll get injured so that might force them to sign the contract.
lolwut?
You know they can sign a contract with another club from another league starting in Jan, right?
Happy with Alexis’ and Jack’s performance last night. Hopefully this will spur us onto an upwards trajectory from here on out.
Btw I also noticed this article was tagged “Arsenal Women”? I think the guys will beg to differ! ?
Hopefully nothing related to spur.
Not them.
Wenger created an African President. Brought Georges Weah from Africa to Monaco when nobody saw his talent. Respect to Wenger but I will continue criticizing him if Arsenal keeps on conceding easy goals.
Alexis is past his prime. He is 29 now and performances like yesterday’s are only going to get further and further apart. I’m not suggesting that a 29 year old footballer is old but this 29 year old footballer is old. He has played for 4 years nonstop. Playing all those tournaments for Chile and not taking adequate rest is shortsighted and will cost whichever team signs him next. I don’t want it to be Arsenal. Let him play out his career elsewhere. If he has more than 1 year as a top top player left in him, I’ll be… Read more »
We should never have a player older then 28 on the club. No matter how good they are.
You talk a lot of sense! I totally agree with this comment.
but city will get more rested Alexis.you know he will not go to WC
Incidentally, as poorly as he has played, Alexis now has six goals in his last nine Premier League matches.
What we really need is for our team to be simple and focused when defending. We never have our head on a swivel…instead yet again caught ball watching for Townsend and Tomkins to slip the ball into the net. The concentration levels (or lack thereof) are astounding. WORST was Bellerin. Consistently ghosted passed behind on his flank TIME AND AGAIN by Zaha and company. But that’s not the worse…the worse is the bench did not do anything to address it. At least shout at the twat and maybe have AMN help him on the right flank instead of deploy left.… Read more »
Cut the guys some slack alexsis did great heres hopimg for wuality buys in december plus some reimforcments in summer stop the crap
We’ll miss both Ozil and Sanchez. It’s all down to Wenger if we end up losing them either now or in the summer. Can’t wait to get a new top younger manager, just to change things around at least, we’ve been stale for many years already
With the fact he met his family in paris and not London, Chileans don’t need a Visa to go to Paris for a short stay, to the UK they would. PSG really don’t need him unless they are thinking of selling a winger like Moura (25 yrs old) or Draxler (24 yrs old) and getting 30-40 mil to fund the Mbappe move coming up and taking Sanchez on a free.
I would’ve thought Ozil would by much more suited to Man City’s style than Sanchez. And Pep could make him the world class player he’s always threatened to be.
and while on that point, can you imagine how good a team Arsenal could be with a manager like Pep in charge? The playing squad is full of talent. He’d make champions out of some players, and raise the level of the rest. He’d get rid of the dead wood, and recruit with style.
Oh vey! If only the board and owners had ambition!