Monday Verdict: Alexis must stay up top; Foxes reverting to type
We examine Alexis Sanchez’s switch to a central striking role for Arsenal, Chelsea’s ‘easy’ run of games and the struggles at West Ham and Leicester.
WHY DIDN’T WENGER MOVE ALEXIS EARLIER?
Alexis Sanchez’s display for Arsenal on Saturday night against West Ham was as good a performance as you’ll see from a ‘centre forward’ this season.
I use the term ‘centre forward’ pretty loosely, however, because it’s only since this season that the Chilean has operated in a central striking role for Arsenal. But having seen him destroy West Ham, you’d have been mistaken for believing Sanchez had played in the position all his life.
Sanchez, or Alexis as he prefers to be called, was at it from the off, unselfishly teeing up Mesut Ozil (more on him later) for the opener after 24 minutes.
That, however, was simply the hors d’oeuvre for the main course, with Alexis absolutely tearing West Ham a new one with a mesmerising display and a hat-trick that you’ll struggle to see bettered this season. Our Player Ratings immediately after the game correctly pinned him as a ‘perfect 10’, with the likes of Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also impressing.
The goal to complete his treble – selling Darren Randolph a dummy on the run before dinking his effort beyond him – was as naughty a finish as I’ve seen.
In a fictional world there could be a dictionary for famous football phrases (copyright bagged right here!) and if you look up the term ‘sexy football’ (as coined by Ruud Gullit) you’d probably find Alexis’ goal. Or failing that, you’d maybe find Jack Wilshere’s against Norwich from a few seasons ago….
But I digress….
In previous seasons, Arsenal have – to many observers – only ever been a world-class centre forward away from winning the title. Which begs the question, why the hell did Arsene Wenger not play Sanchez further forward before?
22 – Alexis Sanchez has been involved in 22 goals in his last 24 Premier League appearances (16 goals, 6 assists). Excellence.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 3, 2016
Wenger is considered an astute judge of players – he wouldn’t have been in the game for as long as he has for all this years if he wasn’t. But his failure to move Alexis into a central striking role earlier than this summer can only be considered an astronomical gaffe.
Would we, for example, have witnessed the miracle of Leicester last season, had Wenger played Alexis centrally last term…?
Arsenal’s record goalscorer, a certain Thierry Henry, was signed by the Gunners way back in 1999. He joined the Gunners as a winger and one who, for a better choice of words, had failed while at his previous club Juventus.
Wenger, however, quickly recognised his attributes were far better suited to playing centrally, a fact recognised by Henry in Oliver Derbyshire’s book ‘Thierry Henry: The Biography’…
The Gunners legend explained of his formation switch:
‘Before I came to Arsenal I’d not played as a striker for 10 years. It was strange and it didn’t work at first. I played there away at Liverpool and the manager switched me back [to the wing] at half-time. He said I’d been rubbish and he was right.
‘However, I kept at it and one day I decided I wanted to do it [switch to a central striking role]. I didn’t do it though because I wanted to, I did it because Wenger wanted me to. I had confidence in Arsene and he had confidence in me.
‘At first it was so hard. But it was only hard in my mind because I had always been in the France squad as a winger. And everyone in Europe knew me as a winger.
‘But I thought, no, I will keep going. I kept speaking to the boss and gradually it started to click….. one day I started to feel like a proper striker….everything fell into place’.
Although Alexis’ move to the central striking role will unlikely give him time to threaten Henry’s record as Arsenal’s all-time top scorer, you can one day forsee reading similar quotes from the player. That said, you can tell Alexis has never lacked faith in his ability the way Henry in his early years once did.
And Alexis’ stats so far this season are certainly showing him capable of playing in the central role.
In fact, not only do his stats, according to WhoScored, draw favourable comprisons to Henry, they also show how much better he performs in the central attacking role.
I wrote in this column six weeks ago that I consider Arsenal to be my title favourites this season.
Even though this was written in the early days of Chelsea’s formation switch and subsequent amazing run of form, I still stand by my assessment. On Saturday evening’s display, they’ll be there or thereabouts, especially considering they’ve already suffered their annual November ‘blip’ while contenders around them are still to suffer theirs.
There are of course other factors that make Arsenal genuine contenders this year; the improved goalscoring of Ozil, the strength in depth they now possess and the Laurent Koscielny / Shkodran Mustafi partnership at the back, being just three.
Good night, Gunners… ?? @Arsenal pic.twitter.com/myoZkKmxjq
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) December 3, 2016
But playing Alexis in his central role could be the biggest factor of them all and if Saturday evening’s performance is anything to go by, he’ll take some stopping this season.
Bilic feeling the strain – but West Ham struggles not his fault
Poor Slaven Bilic. If anyone is feeling the pain of their team’s poor form this season more acutely this season, then I’m yet to meet him.
You can almost feel his angst just watching him on the touchline as West Ham slipped to their second big defeat of the week.
He isn’t just a man who cares about his job, he’s a man who genuinely wants to see the Hammers succeed.
He touched on his concerns earlier this season when he said West Ham’s troubles were giving him sleepless nights, nor allowing him the headspace to think of a name for his new-born baby daughter…
“Like any father I adore my kids. But I said to my assistants that I feel very strange as I got a baby girl a couple of days ago and I am thinking totally about football,” Bilic admits. “That’s not good, that’s not good.
“Of course, I adore her and if I had to walk on my knees to Australia for her then I would walk. I’m not talking about that. But, they asked me: ‘Did you give her a name?’ and I said ‘Name? No, I didn’t. That I have yet to do’.”
“No, it’s not one to be proud of, to be fair.”
Sacking managers in the game has become something of second nature for progress-hungry chairmen and owners, but what would West Ham gain by sacking the Croatian now?
Sure, a new manager might come and give them that instant kick a new face provides. But West Ham’s problems this season are far more reaching than Bilic and what the likeable Croatian can be expected to control.
The poor form of star man Dimitri Payet – which of course run in tandem with West Ham’s own struggles – are one such factor; the move to a new home – especially when the Boleyn was held in such affection for so many years – is another major issue.
But these are teething problems and teething problems alone. This season was always going to be tough. West Ham played above themselves last season and in that sense, Bilic had somewhat made a rod for his own back.
But they’ll come out the other side, for sure – but let’s just hope David Sullivan, David Gold and Karren Brady are sympathetic enough to understand that. The Hammers need Bilic as much as Bilic needs them….
For the record, I’ve searched google long and hard for what Bilic did eventually name his daughter, but to sadly, no avail. Maybe their ongoing struggles means she yet remains unnamed….?!
Stuttering Foxes simply ‘reverting to type’
Go on, hands up who was brave enough to put money on champions Leicester going down this season?
As big a shock as their title triumph was last season, their ‘fall from grace’ this season quite simply isn’t.
I don’t want to criticise Leicester too much: What they did last season was miraculous; the like of which will probably never be seen again in our lifetimes.
To achieve what they did, and get what are increasingly-obviously looking average Premier League players performing individually and collectively so far above themselves week-in, week-out, is looking ever more ridiculous. I still don’t quite believe what happened if I’m honest – I doubt any Leicester fan still does either.
But with memories of last season still fresh in the memory, the very real prospect of a relegation fight this season is becoming more and more apparent.
Quite simply, as champions, Leicester are there to be beaten. And too many teams have not just grown wise to the way they play, they’re also fighting that seeing off the champions doesn’t possess the fear factor it has in previous seasons.
But let’s be honest. Leicester being involved in a relegation scrap this season – watch here as Claudio Ranieri even admits as much – isn’t a massive surprise given their playing squad.
Much of their unexpected glory last season was based on the scintillating form of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez. This season, they’ve not clicked as individuals, or as a partnership.
SAD UPDATE: Riyad Mahrez completed three passes to Jamie Vardy against Sunderland.
— Daniel Storey (@danielstorey85) December 4, 2016
That said, Leicester have too much quality to go down this season and I’m sure their home form will ensure their safety. But Ranieri must make some brave decisions for the good of the team – and sooner rather than later – to give themselves as good a chance as possible.
[of_poll name=’Where will champions Leicester finish this season?’ id=’1349170′]
If their defeat at (albeit improving) Sunderland isn’t his ‘dilly-ding, dilly-dong’ moment, then you do fear nothing will be….
Eight wins and counting for classy Chelsea
Chelsea looked a bit special on Saturday didn’t they? Well, in the second half they did at least and their run of eight Premier League wins in succession looks ever more impressive given where they were at following their bleak defeat to Arsenal back on 24 September.
Saturday’s clash at Man City was the biggest test yet of both their new formation and their new-found belief. Yet, in even going in 1-0 down at half-time, they had enough quality and swagger about them to turn it around. The second and third goals, in particular, were perfect examples of counter-attacking football and weren’t too dissimilar to what we witnessed from Leicester last season.
READ MORE: Chelsea ‘rats’ rise again; brittle City letting Guardiola down
If an away win at City was their best of the season, then the games that follow, on paper at least, look unerringly less testing.
#CFC have now won 8 #PremierLeague games in a row. They next face #WBA (h) #SAFC (a) #CPFC (a) #AFCB (h) #SCFC (h).
13 wins in a row….?!! pic.twitter.com/Pgx1lb0zX1— TEAMtalk (@TEAMtalk) December 3, 2016
Forget the old adage that there are ‘no easy games in the Premier League’, Chelsea do have that look about them that suggests they mean business this season. And if their next run of games goes according to the form book, they could find themselves heading into the new year with a nice little cushion at the top of the tree….
Karanka has done Rhodes no favours
I felt a bit sorry for Jordan Rhodes on Saturday when I read Aitor Karanka had made the player available for transfer in January.
After helping Boro secure a return to the Premier League last season, questions were instantly raised about the player’s ability to play in the top flight and whether he’d leave Teesside. The signing of Alvaro Negredo only enhanced those doubts.
But rather than do what everyone expected he would, Karanka opted to keep Rhodes; so far starting him just once and bringing him off the bench three times. His Premier League minutes so far total just 95 minutes.
Here is a player everyone knows has his limits, and although a very good poacher, simply isn’t cut out for top-flight football. Karanka should have done the decent thing and let him move on in the summer, rather than waste everyone’s time and delay the inevitable….
James Marshment