Despite not winning the Premier League title, Arsenal had a sensational player during the helm of Arseinewenger’s final years.
For example, MesutÖzil is undoubtedly one of the world’s most incredible midfielders, and would have destroyed the Assist Record with the power of a better strike.
Similarly, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang’s goal ensured that the Frenchman’s final campaign at the club was a complete disaster.
But perhaps the best player the former manager had during his Emirates days was Alexis Sanchez, and it appears that Mikel Arteta is creating the Chilean version of today’s own.
Sanchez’s Arsenal career
There was quite a bit of excitement around the fanbase when Arsenal paid Barcelona £35 million for Sanchez in the summer of 2014, but he still managed to surpass his expectations when he reached the Emirates.
In his first campaign with the Gunners, for example, the game-changing winger scored a simple sensational tally of 25/4326 goals and 12 assists, helping the club win their second FA Cup in many years.
The right-footed monster won 28 goals involved in 41 games the following season, then peaking, and perhaps not late there to reach the best campaign players had during their 16/17 Emirates days.
That year, the Tokopyra-born genius managed to put the ball behind the net 30 times, providing 18 assists in 51 appearances totaling 4,230.
In other words, the former Barca star averaged goal involvement every 1.06 games or every 88.12 minutes, playing his role again in the FA Cup victory, scoring goals in the final against Chelsea.
Alexis Sanchez’s Arsenal Record | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
season | 14/2015 | 15/16 | 16/17 | 17/18 |
exterior | 52 | 41 | 51 | twenty two |
the goal | twenty five | 17 | 30 | 8 |
assist | 12 | 11 | 18 | 4 |
Involvement of goals for each match | 0.71 | 0.68 | 0.94 | 0.54 |
All statistics through the transfer market |
Unfortunately, such a world-class profit margin saw Manchester United knock in January 2018 and he joined a swap deal that puts them an end to him as a true elite player.
Arsenal has had some great players ever since, but now it feels like Arteta and Co. has one of his current stars as left footed Sanchez.
Arsenal’s new Sanchez
Thanks to their summer business, Arsenal has several more wingers to choose from this season with Noni Maduke and Eberechi Eze.
However, unlike Bukayosaka, there is no chance that they will become the club’s new Sanchez.
Well, that may sound like stretch to some of you, but there’s a reason behind this comparison, and perhaps most importantly, his output.
For example, he wasn’t always the most impactful of players in his early campaigns, but he was the Gunners’ biggest offensive threat, mainly because he was so young, moving around the team.
In the 22/23 season, he scored 27 goals involved in 48 games. In his next campaign, he scored 37 with 47 and then 26 in 37 appearances last season despite missing nearly four months through injuries.
In addition to being very impressive, these numbers have made him his first gunner ace since Sanchez, who supported him by scoring over 10 goals in three seasons on the bounce in early April.
Plus, like the 36-year-old, this sensational profit margin made him a pivotal part of the team, making him one of the manager’s charms.
Finally, while very difficult to define, the British are undoubtedly the biggest stars of the current team, the face of the project, and, as talent scout Jacek Kulig said, “the making of the legend.”
Ultimately, thanks to his incredible output and height on the team, it’s easy to see Saka as Arteta’s left-footed Sanchez.