The vignette of Alexis Sánchez tearing off some strapping to toss to the turf as he skulks off, head down, visibly disgruntled to see his number up on the substitutes’ board, is not unfamiliar. Three times in recent weeks Arsène Wenger has withdrawn his attacking focal point, at the tail end of the victories over Chelsea, Swansea City and Ludogorets, in the interests of rotation and preserving energy. Three times Sánchez has not appeared best pleased.
“When I decide to take him off, I take him off,” Wenger says pointedly. “There is no special case. He has his own character but he is not treated differently from everybody else.”
Sánchez may take the shots but Wenger calls them. A meddler might wonder if the Chilean is treading a fine line in terms of respect for his manager’s decisions with these little huffs but Wenger tries to regard it as the emotion of a player who cannot stand not playing. “They all recognise [rotation] after the game but during the game they want to stay on the pitch,” he says. “I have played football - you want to play even when you are tired.”
Wenger is keen to avoid the kind of problem that was so costly last season. In November 2015, Wenger noted a hamstring alarm when Sánchez was instrumental in a game against Dinamo Zagreb and considered leaving him out for the next match at Norwich City. Sánchez, however, insisted he wanted to play. In the game at Carrow Road he picked up an injury that would rule him out for almost two months. At the time, Wenger described it as a “nightmare”.
Arguably Sánchez has become an even more pivotal presence this season as he has evolved in the central striker role. His dynamism and movement encourage Arsenal to play a pacier attacking game on their day. It was a role Wenger always had in his mind when he signed Sánchez in the summer of 2014 but it has taken more than two years to give the player a prolonged run in the middle. Wenger now sees that as Sánchez’s primary role.
“I see him there because of the kind of gut he has – provocative,” Wenger explains. “He has a short technique and can always create something. He has a good mixture between scoring and giving the final ball. In my taste, he still comes too much to the ball because Alexis Sánchez likes to have the ball. And we have enough playmakers in our team. We do not want to forbid him to come to the ball but to get in a bit more off-the-ball runs. That’s why when we have Walcott it balances well because when Sánchez comes, Walcott goes. This is a good mixture, a good working unit.”
It has been a work in progress. Wenger remembers starting Sánchez at centre-forward for his first away game in the Premier League, which was at Goodison Park. It was not a particularly successful experiment.
“I took him off at half-time,” the manager recalls. “Maybe I made up my mind that he is more of a winger – but I didn’t give up. I think he is happy there.
“You have a similar type now in England who looks happy to have moved from wide to centre. Redmond is doing well at Southampton as an inside striker. Most of the time you develop a good technique on the flanks as a winger because you are against the line and you have to dribble, and when you are inside you have a bit more room.”
For Saturday’s trip to Sunderland, Wenger has the option of continuing with Sánchez in his new position or shifting him wide to accommodate the return of Olivier Giroud. A tough decision? “Of course,” says Wenger. “They are completely different but they can as well play together. It is a good option to have. To leave quality players out is tough – but the toughest thing is not to have quality players.”
