Here’s a little anecdote from Arsenal’s London Colney training centre last week. Apparently when Alexis Sánchez makes a mistake in training, he sprints from wherever he is positioned all the way to the goalline behind him and back again as a kind of instinctive, self-imposed punishment. An exaggerated yarn? Maybe. But after a season of watching the revved-up Chilean whiz like a footballing dervish around Premier League pitches it is entirely believable.
Arsène Wenger said something intriguing to back up this notion when a Chilean journalist asked him about how Sánchez could improve. “You are from Chile?” queried Wenger, before breaking into a broad smile and putting on his most hospitable voice. “Welcome.”
On to the burning question: “He is not missing a lot,” said Wenger. “He has just been voted player of the year by the fans. What the fans like with him is he is a fighter. That is why he is liked by everybody here. Sometimes he is too demanding with himself, too quickly upset when it doesn’t go well for him and he has to learn to be a bit more patient and not to be too quickly upset.”
This brand of passionate perfectionism underpins his game. If he concedes possession he chases madly to get the ball back, as if losing the ball is a big personal affront. But Arsenal’s luck is that Sánchez has the gifts to regularly turn all those impulses into something so positive, as 25 goals and 12 assists this campaign attest.
The key lesson for kids learning a sport who haven’t mastered what to do with their desperation to win is to channel that energy into their game. That wonder-strike at Wembley is a classic case of Sánchez funnelling all his energy and resolve into the power and precision behind the shot.
Sánchez has been a perfect signing for Wenger. In terms of impact he is a 10 out of 10 with a gold FA Cup branded star. The mixture of intensive effort and inspiring skill gives Wenger some fascinating food for thought over his short summer break (the manager seldom takes more than a week off).
Nobody would dispute that Arsenal still have some improving to do to get closer to the level that delivered the title to Chelsea this season. Wenger has witnessed how much of a difference a world-class talent such as Sánchez can make. The question is, can he find any others who can arrive and elevate the squad further?
The position which requires the most thought is up front. Wenger is completely wedded to the formation that has a fluid hub of three mobile and creative stylists (currently Sánchez, Mesut Özil and Aaron Ramsey) weaving away behind one main striker. That role has been mostly played by Olivier Giroud this season, Theo Walcott suddenly emerged to lead the line prolifically in the last couple of weeks and Danny Welbeck, who has been injury-plagued, has had a few turns as well. Sánchez, too, has played at the head of the attack but as the season has worn on Wenger seems keener to give his Chilean the space to run.
Can Giroud, Walcott or Welbeck be trusted to find the consistency in the most challenging games to take Arsenal to that next level? Although the majority of critics might not need to think too hard about their answer when the direct comparisons at the two clubs who finished ahead of Arsenal in the Premier League are finishers of the calibre of Chelsea’s Diego Costa and Manchester City’s Sergio Agüero, the decision is less clear-cut for Wenger. He loves to develop players and still feels there is room for more from Giroud, Walcott and Welbeck.
There is also the very obvious problem of buying world-class talent. “You don’t find it in the supermarket,” Wenger is fond of saying. Importantly, Arsenal’s two luxury-priced signings in recent years, Sánchez and Özil, came about only because they were considered surplus to requirements at Barcelona and Real Madrid. Picking up talent from the La Liga giants when they need to create a place for a new galáctico has been a fertile market for Arsenal and they may have to wait and see how the summer transfers develop to establish whether a striking signing will present itself.
They can go into any potential negotiations feeling positive about the club’s direction. Although superficially the statistics do not tell a vastly different story from last year, psychologically the players feel very differently about themselves as they head off for the summer. They are all talking about the upward curve they feel like they are riding, and where that might take them.
Last season they got smashed by Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City. This season nobody floored them to the same degree. Last season they were jittery at the start of the FA Cup final and dredged up enough resilience and technique to get over the line. This season they turned on the style. Last season they were overcome with relief at the end of it all to finally bin the totting up of years without a trophy. This season every player giving a post-match interview on the pitch already seemed focused on the next step upwards. They all aired the same refrain about preparing well for a stronger Premier League assault.
A few years ago the Arsenal players were realistic enough to know they were miles away from winning the title. Now, even if they might be over-optimistic with Chelsea still a distance in front, they genuinely believe in the possibility.
