For Arsenal, it is increasingly clear they will only go as far as Alexis Sanchez takes them

Greg Lea writes Arsenal, more than other top Premier League contenders, are reliant on their indispensable inspiration Alexis Sanchez.

Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez celebrates a goal against Bournemouth last weekend. Ben Stansall / AFP / November 27, 2016

It was the type of moment that is seldom included in highlights packages or video compilations but holds significance nonetheless.

With the scores locked at 1-1 and Arsenal coming under increasing pressure against a bold Bournemouth outfit last Sunday, Alexis Sanchez ran back from centre-forward to instruct Gabriel Paulista to slow things down before taking a throw-in deep inside his own half.

It was a sign of leadership, the type of which Arsenal have been accused of lacking in the past few seasons.

Sanchez offers a great deal more than just a strong personality, though. Only Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been directly involved in more goals this year than the Chile international, who has found the back of the net eight times and provided three assists in 13 Premier League appearances.

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Sanchez's work rate from the front is also essential in terms of setting the tone for his teammates, with Arsenal able to play with far greater fluidity when the ex-Barcelona man is leading the line ahead of Olivier Giroud.

The Frenchman has qualities of his own and provides an important Plan B when Arsenal’s initial approach is not bearing fruit, but Sanchez’s performances through the middle have been so impressive that Arsene Wenger must be kicking himself for failing to redeploy him there before this season.

The question now for Arsenal is whether they are too reliant on Sanchez, 27, without who they would probably struggle to compete for domestic and continental silverware.

Granted, all of the division’s top clubs would find things difficult when unable to call upon key players, from Manchester City with Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero to Liverpool with Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino and Chelsea with Costa and Eden Hazard, but the issue is more pronounced with Arsenal’s No 7.

For starters, Sanchez is seemingly never too far away from an injury scare. Wenger claimed that his selection for Chile’s World Cup qualifying clash with Uruguay last month would be a “suicidal decision”, yet the South American champions started him regardless of a hamstring problem.

The Arsenal boss has himself been criticised for failing to properly manage Sanchez in the past: on one occasion, Wenger continued to play him despite admitting he was in the fitness “red zone”.

The fact that Sanchez has not had a proper summer break for over three years – he competed at the World Cup in 2014 and back-to-back Copa Americas in 2015 and 2016 – exacerbates the threat of burnout.

The other issue is Arsenal’s style of play, which has come to revolve around Sanchez as the side’s spearhead.

Replacing him with Giroud is not a like-for-like switch and would require a change in Arsenal’s overall approach, with the Frenchman simply unable to match Sanchez’s mobility.

Lucas Perez and Theo Walcott are closer to the Chilean in terms of their characteristics, but neither has really convinced in the centre-forward role up to now.

Repurposing the entire team to cope with a single player’s absence is never desirable but would probably be necessary in the case of Sanchez, who has become integral to the way Arsenal go about their business.

“Even when he looks dead he is still alive,” Wenger said of his side’s top scorer after the 3-1 victory over Bournemouth.

“He always finds the resources to win the ball back and do something special.”

The Frenchman will hope Sanchez is in a position to continue doing exactly that for the remainder of the campaign. Arsenal’s title chances could depend on it.

Zaha’s choice

Crystal Palace fans have probably drawn on the maxim "when it rains, it pours" in the past few days.

After suffering a sixth successive Premier League defeat at the hands of Swansea City last weekend – a result which leaves manager Alan Pardew on the brink of being dismissed – Palace were dealt another blow when it was confirmed that Wilfried Zaha had switched international allegiance from England to Ivory Coast.

That move opens up the possibility of the winger representing the country of his birth at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, which takes place in Gabon in January and February.

At the time of writing there has been no official announcement either way, but Palace supporters are understandably concerned that their star man could miss up to four Premier League matches at a crucial point of the campaign.

Zaha has been a rare bright spot in a dismal start to the season for Pardew’s side, who are outside the relegation zone on goal difference alone after winning just three of their first 13 encounters.

The former Manchester United man has been criticised for a poor end product in recent years, but a return of two goals and five assists – only Kevin De Bruyne and Nemanja Matic have more of the latter this term – evidences his improvement in that regard.

He is also more consistent than ever before in general play, regularly providing the attacking spark that has helped Palace to score the fifth-most goals in the division.

At the age of 24, there is still time for Zaha to kick on and fulfil the potential he showed in his first spell at Selhurst Park, before a move to Manchester United in 2013 stunted his progress.

In the shorter term, Palace fans will be hoping he puts club above country in the New Year.

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