El Niño Maravilla - Alexis Sanchez analysis
Sanchez is a player who gives so much effort on the pitch and that makes him really special. There isn’t a forward in today’s game that has the same attributes as Alexis. Alexis’ work rate and defensive contribution make him stand out in the crowd - he's a very unique and very talented player. He’s one of the most dedicated players in modern football, a completely professional and committed player. Alexis is that kind of player that has the skills and sense to up his game and give 100% when the team is struggling, he has that nature to carry the team and take responsibility when the others aren’t on their best day. He has the required attributes to take the whole game to another level and establish himself as a leader, something he couldn’t do at Barcelona due to their style - a style that doesn’t fully suit Alexis. Sanchez is a player who takes the leadership role in the Chilean NT - he did that at Udinese as well. He likes the more direct approach and suits a team that plays a much faster, free flowing type of football; someone like Arsenal and for that reason, I believe that Arsenal and Alexis are a match made in heaven - perfect for one another. Sanchez’s style of play is a mixture of the passing style of football and directness, and it's the directness that’ll certainly flourish in the Premier League and for that reason, the Chilean won’t find it hard to adapt as English football suits and fits him perfectly. Sanchez is a very powerful player who can cause the opposition some serious problems and that is welcomed from my point of view as we’ve been missing a player who takes defenders on. His determination to press, track back and regain possession is one of the most impressive sides of his game.
His defensive contribution has given him the reputation that he has in the modern game. He’s widely known as a non-stop, determined, agile and rapid hard worker. It's worth mentioning that despite being wealthy now, Sanchez hasn’t been seduced by the money and he funnels a big portion of his money back to help the Tocopilla community, the area he grew up in. Most importantly, he has a strong character - he is a fighter and a very ambitious player and always looking to succeed and as Arteta pointed out, this signing makes a huge statement and it’s exactly what we need in order to boost our options and chances for more silverware. Alexis is a player that wants to wait and get the ball at his feet, as he is the type of player who takes on defenders and beats them, at least two or even three at a time, so that allows him to open space for his teammates and pass the ball in open areas. Alexis is a dribbler, a street dribbler and possesses skills that allow him to entertain the crowd but also end up as the successful one in a one on one duel. At Udinese, Sanchez was given a more free and creative role and used the importance and responsibility that came with it and ripped teams apart and he’s a player who thrives on space. As I said, Sanchez is a dribbler but being restricted in a passing, tiki-taka Barcelona side doesn’t allow him that much freedom although looking back at his Udinese days, we can already see how big of an influence he can have.
Talking about Sanchez’s dribbling attributes:
With Udinese:
- In 09/10 season, Sanchez made 32 apps (25 starts and 7 off the bench) and had 70 successful dribbles and a 2.2 successful dribbles per game ratio, also averaged 3.1 fouls drawn on him and 2.2 key passes.
- In 10/11 season, Sanchez made 31 apps (27 starts and 4 off the bench) and had incredible, 92 successful dribbles and of course, the successful dribbles per game ratio was significantly better, that season as high as 3 per game, also averaged 3.7 fouls drawn on him and a bit less this time but 1.6 key passes.
