Manchester City have been termed as the favourites to land Arsenal’s want-away star Alexis Sanchez before the start of the next season. Tabloids have gone on to report that despite interest from Chelsea, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, Sanchez and his agent feel that Manchester City is the perfect place for the 28-year old to be playing for the top honours with Pep Guardiola at the helm.
Sanchez has been one of the best players in the Premier League since his arrival and has gone on to become Arsenal’s best foreign import in recent years. The Chilean is in his peak years now and understandably wants to challenge for all the big trophies which Arsenal are failing to do currently. On the other hand, City are planning a major overhaul this summer with reports coming in that this will be the biggest transfer window that Manchester City have ever had in their history with the club hierarchy feeling that they have the best chance to win big things under the Spaniard.
There is no denying the fact that Sanchez is one of the best players in the world and the Chilean will improve any team that he signs up for. But the biggest question here is do Manchester City need Alexis Sanchez? And where would he fit in under Pep Guardiola in the current lineup?
One argument which may justify a potential big money move from Manchester City for Sanchez is to fill the void left by Sergio Aguero if the Argentine moves on in the summer.
There might have been some speculation linking the star striker away from the club, but Aguero is starting to prove that he can adjust as per Guardiola’s demands and is reaping the rewards. Gabriel Jesus had been sensational prior to picking up his injury and expect him to play a big part next season.
Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling have been brilliant on the wings whereas Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva have been crucial from playing in a slightly deeper role.
We have seen in the last few seasons whenever City needed experienced defensive reinforcements, they went out and bought more attacking players. Guardiola will definitely sort out the defence but is also going to try and buy a forward player and perhaps even a midfielder. That means if Sanchez does move to the Etihad, one or more of the existing attacking players in the team will lose their first team place.
It’s a well-known fact that Guardiola experiments with the formations throughout the season which may see Sanchez being employed in a more than one position. If Sanchez is deployed in his natural wide position, either one of Leroy Sane or Raheem Sterling will be benched or the manager will have to use a three at the back formation. In that way, Sane and Sterling will be played as the wingbacks to accommodate Sanchez and Silva/De Bruyne to play behind the striker.
The Chilean has been played predominantly as a striker this season for Arsenal which means he may play as the focal point at City too. This might happen if City offload Sergio Aguero in the summer. Then the Citizens will have Sanchez and Jesus as the strikers which will be helpful for the other attackers to play in their natural positions. All in all, a move for Sanchez only makes sense if City decide to offload Aguero, otherwise, the form of the youngsters in the team will get affected.