Risking Sanchez against Manchester City will be crazy

The Arsenal manager says the Chilean has a “very slight chance” of playing against Manchester City next Monday after a hamstring injury – but he would be mad to take the gamble

It is a sign of Alexis Sanchez’s desire to play football that when he clearly pulled his hamstring last month against Norwich, the Arsenal forward tried to convince Arsenal Wenger that it was nothing to worry about.

The Chilean told his manager that he had been kicked in the back of the leg and would be fine – only for scans to reveal a muscle strain that was expected to keep him out for a month.

So it would be foolish for Wenger to even consider listening to Alexis as the 26-year-old tries to prove his fitness ahead of Monday’s crucial home fixture against Manchester City.

Alexis returned to Chile for two weeks after suffering the injury at Carrow Road and there was even some acceptance at Arsenal that the rest might do him some good.

By Wenger’s own admission, Alexis has been “exhausted” and playing in the “red zone” for much of the season and it has shown in some of his performances, despite scoring nine goals in 20 appearances in all competitions so far this term.

So it would be ridiculous to risk Alexis next Monday when it is unlikely the £35 million man will have fully recovered.

Arsenal cannot afford for their best goalscorer to have a setback when they have a genuine chance of winning the title for the first time since 2004.

They need him fit and firing – and it would be far more sensible for the Gunners to give him an extra week of rest before bringing him back against Southampton on Boxing Day or Bournemouth on December 28.

Wenger’s short-termism has caught him out with injuries before and let’s not forget that Alexis’ current injury came just days after the Arsenal manager had admitted he had a tight hamstring.

Arsenal are second in the Premier League table, have won their last three matches in all competitions and will be favourites to beat Manchester City at the Emirates even without Alexis.

The most likely outcome is that Wenger starts Alexis on the substitutes’ bench, just as he did for the first game of the season against West Ham just six days after the Chilean had returned for pre-season training.

Advertisement

Wenger’s gut feeling on injuries has been wrong far too often over the last few years. He himself needs to think rationally and refuse to gamble on Alexis’ fitness.