Arsenal: Mustafi's Sanchez Comments Indicate Chilean's Importance
After Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain, Shkodran Mustafi heavily praised the quality of Alexis Sanchez, highlighting his importance to the team.
As the aftermath of the confusing, disappointing but ultimately successful 1-1 draw against Paris Saint-Germain continues, one thing that remains clear is that Arsenal’s striking situation is noticeably unclear.
With the addition of Lucas Perez – and his subsequent debut last weekend against Southampton – alongside the return of Olivier Giroud after an extended summer break that saw him, after an extended the summer, enter the new season short of match sharpness, it was expected that Alexis Sanchez’s short reign as the number centre-forward would end rather abruptly.
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That, though, has not materialised, and after Tuesday’s game (a game of the upmost importance for the fate of this season’s Champions League campaign) Sanchez amy well be seen by Wenger as much more than just a temporary striker. It is, from first glance, difficult to understand such a position, but perhaps Shkodran Mustafi’s comments on Wednesday shed some light on the situation:
“I think in football today, modern football, it is not as static as it was and that’s what makes the game so quick and so difficult. If you are a defender, you have to run all over the pitch to chase your striker and it is always difficult. I think we all know Alexis has qualities and he knows where to stand to give the opponent a difficult game. You have to give him credit for that.”
Mustafi, having only been with the first team squad for a matter of weeks, has evidently seen the quality of Sanchez amidst a strong squad boasting many talented players. The point that perhaps has the most bearing, though, is his statement of the modern game being more fluid, far less static and structured than the old 4-4-2 days of years gone by.
Consequently, players like Sanchez, who have the intelligence to play, and excel, in a variety of positions, are extremely important. Versatility brings an understanding of space on the pitch. Sanchez has great awareness, an ability to find, and then exploit, space. While playing him as a central striker has had mixed results thus far, his footballing intelligence could yet make a striker out of him yet.
Arsene Wenger is clearly aware of the abilities that his star Chilean possesses, as is Mustafi. Sanchez is essential to the success of this side, whether on the left wing or as a centre-forward. Expect to see him, though, used in a variety of ways this season as Wenger tries to maximise the effectiveness of his positional intelligence and spacial creativity.
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