The moment that Arsene Wenger submitted his teamsheet at Liverpool without Alexis Sanchez in the starting XI, he ensured that this decision would be the story of a potentially pivotal game in Arsenal’s season. That’s the problem with big calls such as leaving your talisman and leading goal scorer out of the team: whichever way it goes, the decision will be the focus of the attention.
Wenger has been around the game long enough to know how his selection would be dissected, so the Frenchman would also be fully aware that when you put your neck on the block, you have to get it right. But with Arsenal’s 3-1 defeat at Anfield seeing them drop out of the top four for only the second time since mid-September, Wenger’s decision to omit Sanchez from his starting lineup was clearly the wrong one.
Wenger admitted prior to the game that the Chilean was not rested but overlooked in favour of Olivier Giroud for “tactical reasons.” He wanted to test Liverpool with a more direct style of play, using Giroud’s aerial threat and physical presence as a focal point with Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi offering support from the flanks.
The method was there, but the reality is that Sanchez has carried Arsenal at times this season and been their inspiration. His performances have raised the bar for his club, and with 17 Premier League goals, the former Barcelona forward has delivered more often than not, outscoring his teammates, none of whom have been able to hit double figures in the league.
By adapting so well to a central attacking role despite lacking the height and muscle of Giroud, Sanchez has banished any suggestions that he’s too small to play through the middle. So leaving him out for a game that Arsenal could not afford to lose was a bold move by Wenger, but it was also reckless because so few of his players have displayed the ability to step up to the plate this season.
Today was the day that they had to do just that, but with Wenger throwing Sanchez on at half-time in place of Francis Coquelin, his actions were an admission that he had messed up. After the game, however, Wenger was unrepentant, insisting he had no regrets about starting the game without his best player.
“I just think the only regret is to have lost the game,” Wenger said. “Everyone will come to the same conclusion, but I am strong enough and lucid enough to analyse the impact.
“Alexis Sanchez is a great player — I bought him — but a decision like that is a big one, and I will always stand up for it. The thinking was that we had to go more direct, and I wanted to play two players who were strong in the air, but after that, to bring Alexis on in the second half.
“You focus on what you want, but for every single player, it is the same [when you don’t play.]”
Sanchez’s introduction, following a dismal first-half performance by Arsenal, was no surprise. Liverpool had built a 2-0 lead with goals from Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane but could have had more. Arsenal were so poor that their supporters burst into an ironic chant of “We’ve had a shot, we’ve had a shot” after Granit Xhaka’s long-range effort flew high over the Liverpool crossbar after half an hour.
Sanchez’s arrival changed the mood for Arsenal, though, with his pace and energy providing a threat from the flank and raising the levels of those around him. When he teed up Welbeck for his goal on 57 minutes, Arsenal looked to be building a head of steam, with Sanchez at the heart of it. But he faded as quickly as he burst into life, at one stage rubbing his thigh and glancing to the bench as though to suggest he was injured.
Moments later, his close-range shot that could have made it 2-2 was blocked and Liverpool broke away, with Divock Origi teeing up Georginio Wijnaldum for Liverpool’s decisive third goal.
At the end, Sanchez offered a quick wave and hand clap toward the Arsenal supporters before shooting down the tunnel. It was not a show of defiance or anger, but it was telling nonetheless because he did not hang around with his teammates.
Sanchez looks like a player who might already be picturing a future elsewhere, one who no longer has the full trust of his manager. But in turn, Wenger may no longer be able to count on the full confidence of his best player. It’s simply another downside to such high-risk selection decisions.
History shows that big players and big managers tend to drift apart when the superstar is dropped. When Ruud Gullit dropped Alan Shearer for a Newcastle-Sunderland derby in 1999, the Dutchman was sacked as manager after losing the game. David Beckham and Ruud van Nistelrooy were both dropped for high-profile games by Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United shortly before their exits from Old Trafford, while Wayne Rooney also fell foul of Ferguson in the Scot’s final season in charge.
Sergio Aguero’s future at Manchester City has been in doubt since being dropped by Pep Guardiola against Barcelona this season, and there are similar clouds surrounding Diego Costa following his midseason spell out of the team under Antonio Conte.
Conte managed the latter well, with Chelsea winning without the Spanish forward, but Wenger has not been so fortunate. Just as with his decision not to select goalkeeper Petr Cech for the 5-1 defeat against Bayern Munich last month, Wenger got it wrong with Sanchez.
The instant damage can be summed up by the scoreline at Anfield, but in the longer term, Sanchez may regard this as the day that the countdown began on his Arsenal departure. Or, it might begin the countdown to Wenger’s own exit.
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