How has Alexis Sanchez established himself as Arsenal’s best centre-forward?

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Olivier Giroud was signed as Robin Van Persie’s replacement in 2012 from Montpellier in France and, ever since, he has been a constant cause of consternation and an occasional beneficiary of goodwill among Arsenal supporters.

For the naysayers, he is not the world class striker that every title winning team requires and for Giroud’s supporters, it’s not his fault that he’s been the leading striker for most of his Arsenal career.

Both sides have a point. While his numbers are decent, there is no question that manager Arsene Wenger has been trying to shunt him to the bench for quite some time. The £40 million, plus £1, banter-punt on Luis Suarez, the repeated but ultimately futile pursuit of Karim Benzema and more recently the Jamie Vardy saga, all these stand testament to Wenger’s desire for a mobile, nimble and deadly centre forward.

Alexis Sanchez was originally bought to play in the centre but after a couple of half-hearted attempts, the idea was dismissed and, consequently, he has played from the left for the best part of the last two years.

At the start of the season, Arsenal were without Giroud. The Frenchman returned late from the Euros and was struggling for fitness. Danny Welbeck was recovering from a serious knee injury that would keep him out for the remainder of 2016 and Theo Walcott moved back to the right side after his rather chastening experience in the centre. As a result, Arsenal had no option but to play Alexis Sanchez as centre forward.

Necessity is the mother of invention and Arsenal’s necessity meant they had to employ Alexis as a centre-forward. The Chilean international began in this position tentatively, but he grew into the position so much so that he’s become the star forward that the Gunners have craved for years.

His pace and work rate has enabled Arsene Wenger to employ a high pressing style that has quite simply wreaked havoc. Just ask Gary Cahill and Chelsea. The football has become so much more attractive and, in the meantime, Arsenal have been scoring for fun. As it stands, the Gunners are the leagues’ second top scorers, with 44 goals from 20 games.

Alexis’ constant movement and his tendency to drop deep for the ball suits Mesut Ozil’s off the ball runs. The German constantly roves into positions vacated by Alexis and often is the grateful recipient of assists from the Chilean international. Ozil has already matched his highest goal tally for Arsenal in a season and his understanding with Alexis borders on telepathic.

Walcott, meanwhile, often has his best games alongside Alexis and his style is perfectly complemented by his teammate’s. His runs into the space between the center-back and full-back causes confusion among the opposition and more often than not he finds himself in a central position in front of goal – the position where defenders expect Alexis to be.

His goal against Chelsea perfectly illustrates this: he starts on the right, loses Azpilicueta, ghosts in behind Cahill and Luiz to score. This movement can only be effective when he’s alongside Alexis. In the last two years some of Arsenal’s best games have been without Giroud in the starting line-up; Chelsea this season, Manchester United at the Emirates last year and the 2015 FA Cup final.

Alexis has become so integral to Arsenal’s success that when he doesn’t start in the centre, Arsenal look painfully predictable. Giroud as a centre forward pushes Alexis to the left where he is not at his destructive best and it stifles the creativity of Mesut Ozil.

Having said that, Arsenal’s dependence on Alexis doesn’t mean they have to sell Giroud. The Frenchman is still a very important player for the Gunners; he has demonstrated it on many occasions.

Be it his late equalizer at Old Trafford or his match winning goals against Sunderland and more recently West Brom, Giroud more often than not delivers.

His goals have directly contributed to seven points for Arsenal this season and most of them have come as a substitute. He has a massive impact coming off the bench as his physicality drains the already tiring defenders. He is possibly the best second striker in the league. No player has scored more goals as a substitute for Arsenal than him.

Some might say it’s an unwanted record; but it shows to the impact the former Montpellier man can have on a game. It is harsh on Giroud to drop him given his contributions in recent weeks, but starting Alexis improves the whole team by notches.

Football has been always about the team and Wenger knows it much better than anyone – Alexis Sanchez is Arsenal’s best centre forward.

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