'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABgf/2gAIAQEAAAAAmR3/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAB/9oACAECEAAAAD//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAC/9oACAEDEAAAAF//xAAhEAACAQMDBQAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMABBEFBhITITIzQf/aAAgBAQABPwDau1nnt7+V1tpuioLiRm9ZBzxwPKptBuxK4hlgaIMeJfIYj5ntX//EABcRAAMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAhH/2gAIAQIBAT8AhbTR/8QAFxEBAAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQACEf/aAAgBAwEBPwCzgM//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The swap deal between Manchester United and Arsenal has finally been officially announced with Alexis Sanchez joining Manchester United, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan joining Arsenal.
The deal is a player straight swap; no fees attached. With yet another attacking player joining Jose Mourinho's men, how would the Portuguese manager line up the squad?
Sanchez is a very versatile forward, who can play on both wings and up front in the striker position.
However, these positions are where Manchester United have an abundance of options. Last summer's big money signing, Romelu Lukaku has been United's starting striker, with the big Swede, Zlatan Ibrahimović being the main back-up.
Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial are players who can also play in the striker position but recently have been deployed more often as wingers.
Speaking of wingers, Manchester United have many options there as well; in addition to the two players mentioned above, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard have played on the wings as well, however, these two players are more familiar with a more central attacking midfield role.
How Does Sanchez Compare With His New Teammates?
Sanchez certainly can back himself when it comes to stats. Last season, he was involved in 35 goals (24 goals and assisted 11) in the Premier League; no-one at Manchester United had more goal involvements and only Lukaku scored more (25 goals and 6 assists).
This season, however, players such as Martial and Lingard have been playing very well, and are actually doing better than Sanchez.
Lukaku and Martial both have more goals and more assists than Sanchez, and Lingard has the same amount of goals, but more assists.
Lukaku: 11 goals, 5 assists
Martial: 9 goals, 4 assists
Lingard: 7 goals, 4 assists
Sanchez: 7 goals, 3 assists
However, Sanchez has scored double figures in every Premier League season he's played in, and now that he's joined, we can expect his stats to improve.
Sanchez is set to become the highest paid player in the Premier League with a rumoured £500,000 a week contract, so we expect him to be a regular starter for United, but where will he play?
Mourinho has deployed his side in a 4-3-3 formation in their last 3 Premier League games; the attacking trident consisting of 1 striker and 2 wingers. With Lukaku having cemented himself into the striker position, Sanchez will most likely start on one of the wings.
Martial, Mata and Lingard have all started in United's last Premier League games, playing at least once on the wing. Martial is especially in phenomenal form, as he's scored in each of the last 3 Premier League games and registered 1 assist.
Lingard has also scored in the same period, one against Everton, but Mata, who has started on the right wing in all 3 matches, has failed to score or assist in those games.
We don't know who he'll replace, but one thing we know for sure is this: Sanchez will be a starter for United very soon.
