Are Arsenal’s November blues setting in once more? The absence of their star man certainly doesn’t help matters.
Depending on who you read, or who you believe, Arsenal will be without the mercurial brilliance of Alexis Sanchez for anywhere between six days and six weeks.
According to The Sun, the Chilean suffered a ‘low-grade muscle injury’ on international duty, meaning The Gunners will almost certainly be starved of his controlled chaos against Manchester United on November 19th, with the make or break Champions League clash with PSG the following midweek also appearing out of the question. If reports are to be taken at face value, it will be almost two months before he is scuttling across The Emirates turf once again.
Sanchez is no stranger to overloading himself, after all. Arsene Wenger himself claimed to Eurosport last year that the terrier-like talisman has a habit of pushing himself just that little bit too far, his otherwise commendable diligence often becoming a hindrance rather than a help.
And, while it would be excessive in the extreme to portray Arsenal’s season as a dead duck just because their wings have been clipped for the time being, Sanchez’s absence deprives The Gunners of their one-man wrecking ball, a player who has adapted impressively, and even improved his game, in a new look false nine position in recent weeks.
Fans can take solace in Mesut Ozil’s new-found scoring streak, the rare consistency of Theo Walcott and the resurgent form of Olivier Giroud, but it’s difficult to shake the feeling that a Sanchez-less Arsenal is a distinctly different proposition.
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