Alexis Sánchez made his Premier League debut on Saturday as Arsenal struggled to beat Crystal Palace 2-1. The Chilean failed to impress during his 90 minute showcase, and I have a bad feeling that the player’s poor performance might not be down to his ability…
Everyone knows that Alexis was involved in a transfer tug-of-war between Arsenal and Liverpool this summer, with the Gunners eventually winning the battle for the 25-year-old’s signature thanks to their location. And this is what worries me. I think every Gooner will admit that Liverpool is the bigger club at the moment. They finished second in the Premier League last season and looked sharp and dangerous throughout their campaign. To top it all off, they have been hoovering up trophies in recent years – the 80’s – and have set up a new feeder club, Southampton FC. Selling Luis Suarez to Barcelona only strengthened their status as the biggest club in England – a title previously held by Manchester United – thanks to the publicity they’ve garnered from the deal. They are the club that you’d assume Sánchez would want to join… but he didn’t.
The reason for that is simple: London. Liverpool might be better on the pitch, but they can’t compete with Arsenal’s setting. England’s capital city is the place every footballer wants to be, and Alexis Sánchez is proof of that fact.
Sánchez looked disinterested in the game against Crystal Palace. His passing was off, his movement was terrible and he seemed to lack ideas during our build-up. In my opinion – which is usually correct – it is clear that Alexis hasn’t joined Arsenal for footballing reasons. His mind would have been fixated on which top London restaurant he and his girlfriend would be eating at as he misplaced his passes. He would have been daydreaming about taking in the sights later in the day as he overpowered yet another cross. He would have been thinking of receiving his paycheck so he could go out and get drunk in some cheap nightclub as he failed to provide runs for his teammates. Whatever he was thinking of – it wasn’t football!
It is sad to see players make moves non-footballing reasons – even more so when you remember the kind of players Arsenal used to attract. Look at Samir Nasri. He gave 100% in every game, even his last for the club against Liverpool before moving to Manchester City. Robin Van Persie was also dedicated until the very end of his Arsenal career and scored numerous goals for Arsenal in their 2011/12 campaign before heading to Manchester United to win trophies a trophy.
Alexis Sánchez will no doubt be dropped from our starting eleven in the near future. Wasting £35 million on a player whose heart isn’t in his work is sickening. Let us hope he is the last London-lover we’ll sign for a long time.