Alexis Sanchez Proves He Deserves Centre Stage in Arsenal’s Attack

As Arsenal thrashed Chelsea 3-0 on Saturday to extend their unbeaten run in the Premier League to five matches, Gunners fans must have felt as though they were watching a new team finally click.

Many of the faces are familiar, but this particular composition appears to be jelling beautifully. Chelsea simply couldn’t resist Arsenal’s attacking force. It’s no great surprise Alexis Sanchez played a crucial role in dismantling the opposition. However, it is perhaps a shock to see him doing so from an unfamiliar role as a striker.

Manager Arsene Wenger appears to have unlocked an exciting new attacking setup that could make Arsenal the league’s greatest entertainers once again.

They were electrifying against Chelsea. Antonio Conte is a manager schooled in Serie A whose philosophy is geared around avoiding exactly this kind of heavy defeat. However, his team simply could not cope with the verve and vitality of the Gunners’ game. Arsenal were majestic, particularly in the first half.

Afterward, a clearly thrilled Wenger told the media:

I feel, especially in the first half, we wanted to play with high pace, put them under pressure, play at a very high collective connection and speed of passing – it worked quite well. It’s one of those moments in your life as a manager where you think ‘today is a great day’. In the first half, I think it was nearly perfect. In the second half it was a bit in-and-out but in the first half, we have shown great quality. We played with style, with pace, with movement – and that’s the kind of football we want to play.

Arsenal haven’t played this well for some time—almost precisely a year, in fact. On Oct. 4, 2015, they swatted Manchester United aside in an eerily similar fashion. In both games, the Gunners blitzed their opponents with three first-half goals before a controlled second-half performance enabled them to comfortably see the game out. 

The goals came about through similar means too—pressing high up the field to force the opposition into errors and capitalising quickly on the transitions in play. It’s telling that despite their reputation as a possession-based side, Arsenal’s best performances in recent seasons have tended to come when they play fast reactive football.

The …

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