Sanchez's Manchester United switch the biggest in January transfer window history
On Monday evening, the lengthy saga reached its conclusion - Alexis Sanchez completed his move to Manchester United, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan moving the opposite direction to Arsenal. Handed the famed number 7 shirt at Old Trafford, and the chance to restore it to its former glory, Alexis is just the signing United need to help run rivals Manchester City to the wire in the race for the Premier League title in the second half of the season.
United’s issue this term has been the lack of match winner, but the Chilean goes a long way to rectifying that problem. Since his move to Arsenal in 2014, he’s had a direct hand in 70 goals from open play in the Premier League, scoring 48 goals and registering 22 assists. With a 12-point gap to make up at the top of the table, Alexis is the necessary attacker to help narrow the gulf between United and City.
His goal and assist record speaks for itself, but it’s his versatility and tactical intelligence that adds another dimension to the United offensive. Jose Mourinho requires his forward players to carry out specific duties on the pitch and Alexis is the ideal attacker to abide by the Portuguese manager’s demands, both on and off the ball.
Capable of playing on the left or right of the attack in a 4-2-3-1 formation, in a number 10 role or as the lone forward, the 29-year-old’s ability to play any number of positions in the final third means he is something of the perfect forward for Mourinho. Considering Romelu Lukaku’s indifferent goalscoring record against the top-6, too, Alexis provides an alternative to the Belgian on the frontline.
Lukaku is the star forward in the side, yet Mourinho often looks to set his team up to counter the Premier League’s bigger teams, with the 0-0 draw at Liverpool and the 3-1 win at Arsenal cases in point. However, as effective as Lukaku may be at putting the ball in the back of the net, he doesn’t do nearly enough off the ball to occupy defenders, and this is where Alexis comes into play.
The former Arsenal man works tirelessly to not give defenders a moment’s rest and when United are largely on the backfoot, Alexis will ensure opponents are unable to play the ball out from the back and instigate attacks from defence. Indeed, Alexis has the means to have a similar impact as that of Robin van Persie following his move from Arsenal to United in 2012, where the Dutchman fired his new team to the Premier League title with 26 goals.
Alexis may not have the same goalscoring impact as Van Persie did in his debut campaign at Old Trafford, but the former offers some much-needed variation in attack, with his Premier League switch arguably the biggest since the January transfer window was introduced for the 2002/03 campaign.
