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Alexis Sanchez looks set to leave Manchester United after an abysmal year-and-a-half at Old Trafford. The dream move hasn’t worked out for the Chilean, who lit up the Premier League when he arrived from Barcelona to Arsenal in 2014. With a very mixed highlight reel since his time in England, how will he be remembered among if he were to leave this summer?
Perhaps the easiest way to determine his legacy is by simply listing out his pros and cons. You can argue that there’s never been such a wide spectrum of performances from a single player. Sanchez’s best moments in a red shirt are easily matched by the direst of turnouts, leaving everyone wondering what on Earth has happened to him.
At his peak, Sanchez was the star-man for the Gunners. Everything flowed through him, and you could see just how many levels above his team-mates he truly was, with the exception of Mesut Ozil. The forward had a first touch, change of pace, a wider skill range and a natural love for the game beyond any player I’d seen at the Emirates since Thierry Henry. With this, he possessed a hunger and tenacity that was almost humbling. Being the best player on the pitch wasn’t just born out of talent but also from a natural, overwhelming desire to give his all and be better than those, and for those, around him.
Unfortunately, his Arsenal legacy will forever remain tarnished. A failed transfer to Manchester City seemed to play on his mind for the best part of six months either side of the collapsed move. Before, rumours of failed contract negotiations and Pep Guardiola’s interest seemed to turn his head. After the summer fiasco of 2017, Sanchez never looked the same again, cutting a figure of someone wondering what could have been as City took the league by storm. A free transfer was on the cards in the summer of 2018, but he opted to move to the red half of Manchester in January instead.
A swap deal involving Henrikh Mkhitaryan hasn’t worked particularly well for either party. Two players past their peaks have struggled, though both can be forgiven for enduring spells out of position. In Sanchez’s case, his deployment as a number 9 under Arsene Wenger in the 2016-17 season breathed new life into the forward, contributing to his final tally of 30 goals and 18 assists, but Olivier Giroud’s return to form forced the ex-Barca man out wide again and his form never reached the same heights. At Old Trafford his rapid decline continued, leaving him a shell of the player he once was.
Gary Neville summed it up brutally, but brilliantly. The player looks shot of confidence, his legs seem to have gone and the tenacious, humble and hard-working player we used to love and admire simply doesn’t exist anymore and perhaps never will.
It’s so easy to remember the negatives though – Sanchez delivered some of the finest footballing moments in many Arsenal fans’ lives. His FA Cup final goal against Aston Villa in his first season was spectacular, hit with a modern, lacey approach that encapsulated what an elite talent he was, perhaps a class above the side he was with. His second cup final goal against Chelsea was less easy on the eye but doubled in importance. His semi-final winner against City lies in the same category. United fans themselves won’t forget the day the Chilean turned up to tear City apart with a stellar display to deny their rivals the league title for another week.
Could Harry Maguire be on his way to Old Trafford? Check out the video below to see why it would make so much sense…
He wasn’t always loved, and perhaps there were too many emotional aspects of his nature that came to light throughout his time in England. He could have been an Arsenal legend, genuinely, but the stain of a ‘money-grabbing’ reputation will follow him forever. Regardless of what the last few years have thrown up for him, he’s one of the most talented footballers I’ve ever watched live in the flesh and he’ll go down as one the best in the Gunners’ recent history.
With two FA Cups and two Copa Americas won since his arrival at Arsenal, coupled with some incredible goals as well, when the dust has settled we’ll look back on his time in England very fondly – and rightly so.
