Football pundit Alan Smith feels that it is high time Arsenal FC manager Arsene Wenger looks into the case of forward Alexis Sanchez, who he believes needs to be saved “from himself”.
Sanchez has barely had any rest in the pre-season, being busy on international duty as he won the Copa America with Chile. He was soon thrown into action playing English football, by Wenger, who has shown his concerns for the player.
Most recently Sanchez had picked up a knock in Chile’s 1-1 draw against Colombia at home, and coach Jorge Sampaoli was expected to bench Sanchez in the next match against Uruguay (if not rest him completely).
However, much to the dismay of Wenger and the rest of the Arsenal FC fans, Sanchez started the game, which Uruguay won 3-0.
“I think Arsene Wenger was thinking about resting him anyway, because you’ve just got to be careful,” Smith was quoted as saying in Sky Sports. “”He doesn’t know when to stop running, he doesn’t know when to stop training during the week. He’s got to be saved from himself almost because he’s so enthusiastic.
“Arsene Wenger will be looking carefully at that, looking carefully at how much he’s played for Chile – whether he decides to rest him on Saturday,” said Smith. “The team’s not going to be quite the same without him, but they’ve got to be careful they don’t overdo him.”
Wenger has the perfect chance to rest Sanchez
While they have had a run of difficult games heading into the International break, Arsenal FC would be heaving a sigh of relief because their next few matches do not seem to be that difficult.
They face West Bromwich Albion (A), Norwich City, (A), and bottom clubs Sunderland (H) and Aston Villa (A) in the Premier League, before the potential top of the table clash against Manchester City on December 21. In the Champions League too, they face Dinamo Zagreb in midweek, followed by a journey to Olympiakos.
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While both these matches are must-win affairs for them, if they are to harbour any hopes of staying in the Champions League, Wenger could afford to go a bit easy on Sanchez in the Premier League fixtures, to give his star player some much needed rest.