Finding a replacement for Arsenal star man, Alexis Sanchez is next to impossible for the Gunners. For a player of his calibre, he was bought for only £35m back in 2014, but given the way he played in his very first season with the Gunners, the price tag was justified. He finished his first season with 25 goals in all competition, with 16 of those coming in the Premier League.
He’s currently tied with Diego Costa and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in second-place in Premier League goalscorers tally with 15 goals, but he also has eight assists to his name. Those numbers, though, don’t showcase another important aspect of his game – his tenacity and hard work he puts when on the pitch.
This season has been his standout season, after his second year with Arsenal was plagued with injuries, but ever since Arsene Wenger decided to try him out as a centre-forward, the 28-year-old has been spectacular. A defender’s nightmare, Sanchez can play as either a winger or as a centre-forward and combined with his intense work rate, he does phenomenally well in both positions.
Any replacement for the Chilean has to be younger than him, and at 28 there are hardly any players of his kind of skill that Wenger would even consider bringing into his team. The list below consists of five possible players who could replace Sanchez but are also players that Arsene Wenger may take into account in the summer.
#5 Danny Welbeck
Danny Welbeck has had a torrid last two years with Arsenal, but despite all the time out he has spent with injury, he did more with 15 minutes on the pitch on Saturday than Alexis or Ozil did all game against Chelsea. His speed combined with his strength was on show as he gave the Arsenal faithful a glimmer of hope.
His header from what was a solid cross would have been a goal if any other keeper was between the sticks, but unfortunately, Arsenal went on to lose the game. Despite all that, Welbeck has what Arsenal desperately need, a solid striker who can score goals when required.
Why look any further than the Emirates then? If Welbeck has the ability and the talent to play up front, then why not use him to his potential. Wenger had already shown implicit trust in the Englishman when he brought the 26-year-old against Burnley, and he’s not the first: throughout the striker’s career, he’s been a manager favourite.
His work rate is incredible, and when brought on he’s willing to do whatever it takes to help his team come out on top. Welbeck’s willingness to play on the wing shows his versatility and selflessness.
But that’s not all the 26-year-old has been taught to do during his time at Manchester United’s youth system. His delicate first touch, which he showed off during the 5-0 win against Southampton, is a product of his years in United’s academy. Before his injury in the penultimate game of last season, the striker was close to becoming Wenger’s first choice striker. Now with him back and close to 100% match fitness, Welbeck needs to show that he can match Alexis’s eye for goal but also remain injury free for a long time.
#4 Marco Reus
Marco Reus has been linked with a move out of Signal Iduna Park for nearly three seasons now, and Arsenal has been linked with the German star in all three. But now with Alexis Sanchez's future in doubt, many feel Marco Reus will be Arsene Wenger’s preferred option to replace the forward.
And just like that, he’ll pull out £60 million and pay for the German winger, and Thomas Tuchel would be overjoyed just to hand over the attacking midfielder to Arsenal! Jokes aside, Reus is one of Tuchel’s star players and the manager wouldn’t just part with a player who's crucial to Dortmund's future.
Despite being out for most of the season with a serious injury, Reus has shown why when fit and firing, he’s one of Europe’s most feared players. Since his return in November, the 27-year-old has been involved with four goals and six assists for Dortmund. While Tuchel does have exceptional players to call upon like Christian Pulisic, Mario Gotze, Andre Schurrle and even Ousmane Dembele in times of need, Reus’s abilities are much more diverse and strikingly similar to Alexis Sanchez.
Like the Chilean, the German international prefers to cut in from the left flank, which is his preferred position. From there he can find space, drive at defenders and even cut in more centrally for a chance at goal. But it’s the fact that he’s German that may make the difference, especially with Mesut Ozil also on the fringes, having refused to sign a new contract with Arsenal.
Bringing in a player like Marco Reus will also be accompanied by a very hefty price tag, but if there is anyone who can succeed in the Premier League, it's Reus. As for his injury concerns, Arsenal have fitness coach, Shad Forsythe, who Reus knows from Forsythe’s time with German national team.
#3 Antoine Griezmann
When Wenger was spotted talking to the France forward after a Euro match, it sparked rumours about the Atletico Madrid striker seeking a transfer to Arsenal. But then that’s just Wenger being Wenger.
According to Italian journalist Emanuele Giulianelli, Wenger has said that, if both Alexis and Mesut Ozil leave the club, then he would just go out and get Griezmann and Marco Reus. Now that's easier said than done, especially now with the Arsenal boss’s future in doubt and their title race in shambles after a 3-1 defeat to Chelsea.
When compared together, Sanchez and Griezmann are nearly the same player and have had outstanding seasons so far, despite a few ups and downs in the latter’s game. With eight goals in 20 games for Atletico in the La Liga, Griezmann is not the same player he was last season, but he would be the striker that Arsenal has needed for a while.
But, and this is a massive but, at around €85 million, he could be as expensive as Paul Pogba, if not more and there’s a good chance that Wenger may not break the bank to sign the 25-year-old. However, as Gary Lineker rightly pointed out, you can put a price tag on goals and Griezmann has enough goals and a ceiling high enough to put such a merit to a steep price tag.
Despite all that, with Manchester United swooping in, Wenger may look to another striker to fill his void and given the fact that Arsenal can’t afford to give either Sanchez or Ozil new deals, maybe Greizmann is just a happy dream??
#2 Andrea Belotti
At 23, Belotti is one of the most wanted young players in world football. The Torino striker has been brilliant this season, scoring 15 goals in 20 Serie A appearances and is second behind only Dries Mertens of Napoli who has 16 goals.
The Italian striker is one of Europe's most sought-after strikers with nearly all of the Premier League's top teams after him including, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United. As a matter of fact, Torino's sporting director Gianluca Petrachi has claimed that the Serie A club rejected a €65 million offer from Arsenal during the January transfer window.
Turing down an offer like that might sound crazy, but the fact of the matter is that it is going to take a lot more money than that to secure the 23-year-old services. Last month, Belotti signed a new contract extension, and that includes a €100 million release clause that applies to non-Italian teams. To put that figure in perspective, Juventus had to dish out nearly €90 million to buy Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli last summer.
His ability to play anywhere across the front line would be a brilliant tool in Wenger’s arsenal. Combined with his physical prowess, his solid work rate and his poacher’s ability, Belotti has been compared to greats from all over the world and has been praised not only for his finishing but also his ability for playing as a target man.
#1 Karim Benzema
No summer transfer window is the same without Arsenal being linked to Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema. But it seems this time there could be some reason behind all the rumours. With Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero disgruntled with his current status at the club, Real Madrid is planning a £75 million move for the Argentine, who is keen on making a move to another club soon.
This means that Gabriel Jesus’s €32 million move from Palmeiras to Manchester City could lead to a massive domino effect with Karim Benzema being the final piece that falls at Arsenal.
Benzema would cost the Gunners around €50 million, and he’s a player they have tried to sign for a few years now with no luck. The 29-year-old striker has played at the Bernabeu for the last eight years, winning the Champions League twice, two FIFA Club World Cups, as well as a La Liga title during the 2011-2012 season.
In an iconic move of sorts, Benzema would come to Arsenal to replace fellow Frenchman Oliver Giroud, who has been Wenger’s super sub so far, with him scoring eight goals in 17 appearances. The current Arsenal man, when played, has been entirely reliant on balls in from either Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil or any one of the full-backs.
While Benzema would certainly love the service coming in from the wings, he’s also a player who can create chances on his own for the team. From purely a talent standpoint, (despite him failing to find his best form in the last few months) the French striker could be the answer Wenger has been longing for ever since a certain Dutch striker left them hanging.
