When talking about the best strikers in the world, soccer fans tend to mention the same players.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are on what one could call a top tier. Players like Antoine Griezmann, Gareth Bale, Luis Suárez and Gonzalo Higuain are also among the best. But another player that’s quickly climbing into the Top 10 is Alexis Sanchez.
The Arsenal star striker is enjoying perhaps his best season in Europe playing for the Gunners. And considering he’s still 28 years old, he still has a few years at the top level ahead of him. He’s always been considered a top player, but this year he’s taken his play to a whole new level.
Sanchez always looked like a star in the making at Udinese in the Italian Serie A. Maybe he wasn’t able to display his full potential alongside Messi in Barcelona, but he’s the undisputed star in Arsenal. And Alexis certainly embraces that role. To make things even better, he can operate wide on either flank, as a support striker or as a central forward. His versatility is a plus, but he’s thriving as a central forward and the numbers back that up.
Through 22 Premier League matches this season, Alexis has netted 15 goals. If we analyze his numbers across all competitions, then Alexis has an impressive tally of 17 goals in 28 appearances. To put numbers into context, he’s topped the 20-goal plateau twice (21 in 2013-14, 25 in 2014-15) but it seems he’ll do it again this year. And considering he has AT LEAST 16 matches left to play between EPL and UCL, he could easily reach 25 goals. This would equal his best scoring campaign in Europe.
Just so you can enjoy it, here are some of Alexis’ best moments with Arsenal over the course of the present season. We can see that his finishing has improved dramatically in the past 12 months:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geLWO-TE160&w=854&h=480
Sanchez is not only thriving at club level, though. He’s been one of the most important player for Chile over the past 10 years. And he’s quite a threat in the final third, as evidenced by his 36 goals in 106 caps. He’s one goal away from tying Marcelo Salas as the country’s all-time leading scorer, and all signs indicate he might finish his international career with around 50 or more goals. He’s that good. And he’s THAT important to La Roja, as the reigning Copa America champions are fighting for a third straight World Cup berth ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sL43ccTGLI&w=854&h=480
Sure, Alexis might not have the same market value as Messi, Ronaldo or Ibrahimovic. But we can’t deny he’s on the best moment of his career, and he’s clearly one of the top 10 strikers in the world right now.