“Alexis Sanchez BABY—Alexis Sanchez, OHHohhhhhhh!” chanted the traveling Arsenal supporters at the King Power Stadium this weekend. For good reason. Arsenal defeated Leicester City 2-5, as the Gunners’ fiery Chilean finally opened his goalscoring account in the 2015 – 2016 season—and did so with no less than a hat-trick, each goal more savory than the last.
His first was a credit to his positioning, but a tap in. The second, a header from his perfectly timed run. And finally, a silky first touch followed by a perfectly struck shot from the top of the 18 yard box, right into the bottom corner, beating the keeper near post topped off his treble.
If some tabloid-mongers or flighty Arsenal supporters had begun to question Alexis’ ability to deliver this season—after he had failed to score in his first eight games—Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger never doubted him for a moment.
“History tells us that it can be difficult after winning a major trophy,” Wenger said. “But he will come back, I don’t worry for Alexis Sanchez.”
Wenger is wise to save his fretting for elsewhere; he’ll have plenty of opportunities to worry before the season is out. But when it comes to Alexis, whether you are Arsenal ’til you die or loathe the Gunners with a passion, it’s difficult to dispute that the Chilean forward is a player of class and grace, with a winning combination of desire, commitment, work ethic, and mouth-watering skill.
After the match, Arsenal and England forward Theo Walcott praised his Chilean teammate. “He is a top-quality player and even when he is not scoring goals he works so hard for us. He tracks back and does a lot for the team. I am sure he going to flourish now with many, many more important goals. It has been a long time coming, he knows that himself. But he is very pleased today.”
He’s “top-quality,” and is sure to kick on with “many more important goals,” sure. But perhaps the most important piece of Walcott’s insight into his teammates game comes not up front, but at the back, that “he works so hard for us. He tracks back and does a lot for the team.”
Goals win games, and Alexis’ goals are not only often decisive, but also often gorgeous. But in tracking back to defend, in putting forth the same sort of effort at the back that he does in attack, Alexis Sanchez brings to mind a recently departed Arsenal forward, and the contrast is not flattering: Lukas Podolski.
A Gunner from 2012 until this past summer, Podolski’s skill in finishing is indisputable. A seasoned German international and World Cup winner, Podolski has one of the very best left feet in the world. Alexis Sanchez might play the next five or six years in North London, and whatever wonder goals he scores, few if any will be clearly better than this brilliant left-footed volley from Podolski.
But the achilles heel of his all-around game was that Podolski did not defend well. Or, said more pointedly—and perhaps more accurately—Podolski hardly defended at all. Despite his talent, despite his proven track record as a German international and a profoundly capable attacking winger, as his minutes dwindled at the Emirates, it became clear that Arsene Wenger could not overlook Podolski’s defensive weakness, whatever his goalscoring prowess.
Not so with Alexis.
In addition to his 25 goals last season, Alexis Sanchez was among the teams most doggedly committed players in tracking back to defend. Following his hat-trick at Leicester, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had oodles of praise for the hero of the day, including some comments about his own role as Alexis’ understudy.
“The one thing I would say about Alexis is that he’s one of the most passionate and hungry individuals I know. As a player, he brings out the best of you in training every day and also in the matches. If he knows when he’s not at his best, which is rare, he’ll always push himself to do as well as he can and he demands a lot of himself. To look at how many goals he scored last year makes it hard for me not to learn from him. It’s his everyday mannerisms around the training ground, how he trains, his performances, how he scores goals, how he plays and how he defends from up front. These are all things that we can all learn, that everyone who watches football could learn from. I’ve definitely put myself in the bracket of somebody who learns from him every day.”
Once again, in the cascade of praise for the Chilean, one thing stands out: defending. “…how he plays and how he defends from up front.”
Yes—take note, young Padawan.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is a phenomenally talented young man; anyone who thinks different should check out what he was capable of as many as four years ago. Yeah, old boy has some skill. But at this point in his budding career, despite his promise, ‘the Ox’ is in danger of becoming ‘the next Podolski’ at Arsenal.
Case in point: Arsenal’s ignominious exit from the Champions League last year, a game in which Oxlade-Chamberlain showed both his best and his worst. Playing the first leg at home in London against Monaco, the Gunners were down 0-2 heading into the final minutes. Coming on as a substitute, the Ox put his team back in it with a truly fantastic goal just after the 90th minute. And then, moments later, pressing up to try for a desperate equalizer, Oxlade-Chamberlain’s lapse in defending directly led to Monaco’s third goal, a goal that would prove decisive in the two-legged tie.
It was the best of Ox, it was the worst of Ox.
In a star-studded squad, Alexis Sanchez stands out as Arsenal’s best player, a prolific goalscorer who can be unselfish in assist if he must, and who tracks back to win the ball for his side. But even though it doesn’t make the highlight reel, his tracking back in defense is a major piece of what makes him the first name on Arsene Wenger’s team sheet—no mean honor. If the Ox wants to be a true pupil of Sanchez, then he must focus particularly on defending, on Alexis’ discipline which allows him to score hat-tricks without sacrificing his team’s defense.