The camera zoomed in on the fingers pressing the piano keys to the ‘Glory Glory Man United’ tune and then switched to the silhouette of the figure playing the piano in United red with the number 7 at the back with the tune still playing in the background; Alexis Sanchez reveals himself in the centre of the Old Trafford pitch as a United player for the first time to complete one of the most exciting announcement videos in recent times. Such was the fanfare that accompanied Manchester United’s transfer of Alexis Sanchez from premier league rivals Arsenal to Manchester in a bossman deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan go the other way. The deal, which was completed in the January transfer window, is for a period of four and a half years with the 29 year old set to pocket a whooping 14 million euros after tax.
Fast foward 10 months later, the question on most United fans’ lips is ‘What happened to Alexis Sanchez?’. Sanchez has been underwhelming after making the switch from the red of London to the red of Manchester and it has left most football and Manchester United fans in particular restless and gutted. Since joining Arsenal in the summer of 2014, Sanchez scored 60 goals and was involved in 85, more than any other Arsenal player in the Premier League. Only Romelu Lukaku, Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane scored more in that period. Only Mesut Ozil (378) created more goalscoring opportunities for the Gunners in the Premier League since August 2014 than Sanchez (272). In all competitions, Sanchez scored 80 goals and was involved in 121, more than any other Arsenal player since August 2014.
Where It Has Gone Wrong?
It is however worrying that Alexis Sanchez has scored only two premier league goals since his debut and has had to wait for an average of 638 minutes for each of his two goals and has gone an overwhelming 831 minutes without a goal this season and clearly the player that enjoyed his football and was happy to take on defenders and shots has lost his confidence. Sanchez (even though one of his negative attribute because of his willingness to be on the ball always) has lost the ball more times in a United shirt and has lost the presence he used to have everywhere the ball seems to be on the pitch. Sanchez seems to look dejected and a pale shadow of his former self when on the pitch. The player that once used to confidently ignore his team mates when there is a clear-cut opportunity and hit a shot now seems to always look for options and that is a very worrying situation for the Chilean Star.
The Way Forward
There is no point in overly laying bare Sanchez’s woes on the pitch. The right thing is what should Mourinho do to help return Sanchez back to his glory days. No argument, Sanchez is a professional and in as much as he is also to try to pull his weight as a player, he needs an approach that would tailor a path to the return of good form; and that is where Mourinho comes into the picture. Manchester United fans shouldn’t object to this idea since for the past two seasons they have been calling for United to bring in other players in an attempt to help bring the best out of Pogba (that in all truth has not been successful so far).
Play Sanchez as a CF.
Alexis Sanchez best goal tally in an Arsenal shirt came in the 2016/17 season when Arsene Wenger decided to play Sanchez as his first choice Centre forward ahead of Olivier Giroud. Arsenal fans were thrilled by the Chilean’s output of 24 goals in the 38 matches he played. Arsene Wenger described Sanchez as a willing runner and intelligent finisher hence his decision to play the Chilean upfront. There were games where Sanchez grabbed by the scruff of the neck and shone brilliantly, there were other games that he popped up as a match winner when the game was screaming for one and there were games that he popped up out of nothing to grab valuable points for Arsenal. At United, Sanchez seems to be hugging the flank and has no desire to even actually cut in like he most skillfully used to and that has affected the flow of play most times. The fact that Lukaku has also been poor this season means that Mourinho can afford to bench the big Belgian to make way for a change in the mould of Alexis Sanchez or could even afford to pair the two upfront.
Play Sanchez In a Free Role.
Alexis Sanchez is a ball chaser, a willing adventurer on the pitch and a tireless worker with and without the ball when he wants to be. As such, Sanchez just loves to follow the ball all over the pitch. One moment he could be on the right wing pestering the opponent’s defense and another moment he will be hassling to get the ball back in the left back position. Even though because of this attribute, he loses the ball most times, the argument is that, he gets on the ball more often and the more often Sanchez is on the ball, the more likely the team is to create a goal scoring opportunity. At United ( apart from an occassional stray into the midfield and defense), Sanchez seems to be confined and his freedom is limited and needs to freed a little bit more.
It is true Sanchez has been a pale shadow of himself. And United’s general form has not helped matters but Alexis is a player of high quality and deserves whatever he is earning because he worked his socks off to get to this stage. Sanchez, as i said earlier is partly to blame for his poor form because we have seen a Sanchez that produces the best out of nothing even when he is struggling in a game. However, Manchester United and Jose Mourinho need to twitch a few details that will play to his advantage. And to those who might say Sanchez is not the only United player and should not be given such preferential treatment, all i will say is, firstly, the Chilean us United’s highest paid player and so the best should be brought and demanded out of him with a little help from the manager and secondly, if United fans have been okay with the idea that Paul Pogba be helped in terms of personnel and positional twitches on the pitch in order to help bring the best out of him, why can’t we allow the same to be done for Alexis Sanchez.
Gogoe.
The Green Turf 
Lol GGMU
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