Whisper it quietly, no, shout it, scream at anybody who tells you different, in Alexis Sanchez, we have one of the world’s best. A natural superstar. He displays every single week the attitude and talent for the game that should be a requirement for a professional footballer; sadly this is not the case in the modern game that see’s too many casual, passenger-like performers. He’s carrying the fire in this team; and based on a short Theo Walcott cameo it’s a fire soon to be shared. In the coming weeks, we may start to see some real firepower in that Arsenal cannon. And it can’t come soon enough, because we’ve been painfully struggling for a while now and could do with some much needed injection. On to his game.
He was, once again, Arsenal’s only bright spark. There were others, but in no way were they brighter or more poignant. In the first half it quickly became evident that Arsenal had settled into a pattern of watching Alexis do all the hard work before fluffing all the chances. I’m looking at you, Santi. Shape up. Sort yourself out. Alexis brilliantly turned two defenders, thread the ball into Chamberlain, who put it on a plate for Santi, only to see the Spaniard miss his lines again. The next chance came from Alexis again, who left a player on the floor, chinked past the other one, and curled an effort on goal that was well saved by the excellent Heaton, who was Burnley’s standout performer, despite the 3-0 score line, which should have been far more. It’s a sign of improvement, so I’ll take it. Although, Burnley are bottom of the league for a reason, and in no way are Arsenal out of those treacherous murky waters yet. Chamberlain again collected the follow up and, again, Santi failed to convert when given the chance. Sanchez went through on goal at a narrow angle in the final stages of the half and another excellent stop saw him denied.
The second half followed much of the same pattern, with Cazorla at the brunt of Arsenal’s attacking woes. He is a shadow of the player we know he can be. He really looks lost and needs a break from the team. Arsene needs to be ruthless, realise he’s boggin down every attack, and drop him, you know, like he drops Campbell for doing absolutely nothing wrong; he must be naughty in training, or something, because, other than that, I can’t see any clear-cut reason for Campbell’s continued neglect. Cazorla showed us a piece of magic, and his masterpiece, when he missed an open goal from a couple of yards. It was Sunday league stuff, and he’s been producing these levels of performances for the best part of the year.
Thankfully, Alexis rose above everyone else, literally, like a savoir, to head home. Sandwiched by two defenders taller than him, but still powering home a terrific header, which saw the floodgates finally open, and Arsenal’s attack quickly became more gun-hoe and less goal-shy.
Chambers bagged his first Arsenal goal, which is always nice, after Welbeck was cruelly denied, and not for the first time in the match; he played well dispute not being able rustle the back of the net.
But if this again proved anything it’s that Alexis is Arsenal’s spark. We haven’t really had a player of this calibre since Judas had that one good season and deceived the world into believing he’s the best. Sure, Ozil can be a match winner sometimes; but Alexis is a match winner every week. At one point I noticed Arteta had many options to pass to, some easier, yet he chose a slightly more awkward ball, simply to find Alexis. It’s a sign of the talent we have, and who the boss on the field is right now. You give Alexis the ball, and you watch, maybe learn something. And he IS Suarez esque; make no mistake, Alexis fits that bracket.
Diverting the attention away from Alexis (because all this spotlight can only mean that when he has a bad game he’s going to become the worst player in Arsenal history), we glimpsed a few minutes of Theo Walcott. Honestly, it was brilliant seeing him out there again, and he slotted in effortlessly. He’s one of our stars, and one the best in the league. He is a game changer, winner, and league title challenger. He’s always been the firepower when we’ve struggled in previous seasons, and he will be again, this time he’ll be partnering with Alexis Sanchez, and it’s going to be a glorious blood bath. But it takes time, and time is precious in the Premier League.
Back to the the man in the spotlight.
He bagged another brace, and people thought he’d struggle at Arsenal (Haha). That takes him to seven goals and two assists in only nine Premier League starts. A fantastic return, brightened by the realisation that’s he’s managed all this on his own, in a struggling team. What happens when everything clicks? It might be exciting after all. We need to sort our injuries out. It’s cost us too much already, and it’s only November.
It was a good day for Arsenal. Scored a few goals. Theo return. (I was also impressed by Ramsey’s brief role. He looks comfortable again.) Podolski going nuts – but on the field this time. This could be the spark for a good run. Not a winning run. A good run, with good football, and smiles. And if there is a resurgence, it will be Alexis who leads it, from the front, snapping at heels.