How big a miss could Alexis Sanchez be for Arsenal’s Champions League hopes?

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If Arsenal fans thought that Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at the hands of West Bromwich Albion was damaging enough, the bad news kept on coming that night as it transpired that Alexis Sanchez’s ankle injury – picked up after a James McClean tackle – could be a lot worse than first feared.

After a bright first-half performance from the 28-year-old, McClean’s crunching – but clean – lunging challenge left Sanchez in clear discomfort, with the Chilean substituted late on in the second-half.

Sanchez’s impact on the game was evidently different since picking up the knock, unable to move as fluidly as he had been in the first-half, and it transpires that it could be a potential ligament problem.

If so, this could be a huge loss for Arsenal as they look to secure Champions League football by finishing inside the top-four, especially with matches against both Manchester sides still to come.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Wenger said:

“He [Sanchez] should not have played in the second half but he insisted that he wanted to. In the end we had to take him off.”

Sanchez has been named in the Chile squad for their fixtures against Argentina and Venezuela over the upcoming week, but Wenger remained coy over whether he will allow his striker to travel.

“If it’s only a kick, he will play. If the ligament is damaged, he will not play.”

Sanchez had undeniably been Arsenal’s best player on the pitch up until his injury too, giving West Brom’s disciplined defence trouble down the left-wing with his darting runs, his ability to use either foot confidently and his sudden turn of acceleration on and off the ball.

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It was the Chilean who got Arsenal back into the match after Craig Dawson’s early effort, staying at the back-post before drawing the sliding challenge in front of goal, neatly smashing high into the net.

This was the 100^th goal that Sanchez has been involved with since signing for Arsenal from Barcelona back in 2014 (64 goals, 36 assists), and took his goal-scoring tally in the last ten Premier League matches to eight – only Everton’s Romelu Lukaku has a better record in this period of time. It also took his involvement this season to 27 goals (18 goals, nine assists), more than anyone else in the Premier League.

For someone who has only missed 175 minutes of Premier League football across 27 games this season – 45 of those because of Wenger’s decision to leave him on the bench at Anfield a fortnight ago – Arsenal will have to adapt very quickly without him if his injury does prove to be more severe than first thought.

Both Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott, who were far below their best against West Brom, will need to step up to the mark and take responsibility in creating chances, not just looking to take them.

There’s arguably never a good time to pick up an injury in football, but Arsene Wenger must be wondering when the bad luck will end as he sees his side in the middle of a period of freefall.

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The Gunners are now level on points with sixth-place Everton, six points behind Liverpool in fourth and seven behind Manchester City after the two played out an entertaining draw on Sunday evening.

With Manchester United also winning against lowly Middlesbrough on Sunday lunchtime, Jose Mourinho’s side leapfrogged their London rivals, leaving the Gunners now two points adrift of fifth place.

To add more tension to an already dramatic Saturday afternoon, in Wenger’s post-match conference he said “I know what I will do” whilst addressing speculation over his future as manager of Arsenal.

Two contradicting banners were flown over The Hawthorns during the first-half of the West Brom clash, one in support of the Frenchman and one protesting, and Wenger openly said that he has made up his mind as to whether he will remain at the Emirates, admitting “you will know soon”.

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After a promising start to the season from an Arsenal perspective it all seems to be unravelling once again in March, fuelled by yet another Champions League quarter-final humiliation; with the top-four looking further and further away, and the fitness of Sanchez in the balance, it’s currently looking bleak at the Emirates.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Edwin Jiminez.