Alexis Sanchez , popularly known as “El Niño Maravilla” (The Wonder Child) is on verge to leave Arsenal in winter or at most after this season as his contract expires and the Chelian has not expressed any desire to put pen to paper at Emirates.
Pep Guardiola has given his nod to sign Alexis Sanchez next season for Manchester City and he is also linked for a move to Paris Saint Germain. If Sanchez leaves Arsenal, the club will surely have to find his alternative to fill up the void left by him.
Here are the 4 Potential Stars Arsenal could sign next summer to replace Alexis Sanchez :
1.Thomas Lemar :
Lemar is known for his versatility upfront being able to feature on either wings as well as through the centre. His dribbling quality and passing ability is undoubtedly proven.
Thomas Lemar started his footballing career at Caen in 2013. He had made 32 appearances for the club in the following 2 seasons. Monaco signed him with a transfer fee of £3.4 million. He has featured in all levels of France International team from Under 17 to Under 21. He made his France senior team debut in 2016 against Ivory Coast in a friendly match.
What makes him dangerous?
- Good with dead balls
- His link up play is always up to the mark and his impact in a match is remarkable
- Tremendous ‘off the ball’ movement
- His ability to perform with both foots
These attributes have helped him to score 14 goals in 55 appearances in the 2016-17 season and 17 assists also for Monaco.
Arsenal are looking to get Thomas Lemar since last summer and even could have cemented the deal back in summer. But somehow Monaco was able to retain him this season. If Arsenal can bring Lemar, he would surely be able to replace Alexis Sanchez at Arsenal that’s for sure.
2. Julian Draxler :
Julian Draxler, the German International currently plays for the Ligue 1 side Paris Saint Germain. Highly known for his ability to use both feet, his speed an power in his shots.
Draxler made his Bundesliga debut at the age of just 17 for Schalke 04 and in later stage of the season he scored his first goal followed by Schalke winning the DFB-Pokal Final which brought Draxler into the limelight for the very first time. He played a total of 171 competitive matches for Schalke, scoring 30 goals but then opted to play for German rivals VfL Wolfsburg in 2015.
Draxler’s International career(Germany) is really admirable at the same time. He is a full international with over 35 caps after his debut coming in 2012. Draxler was part of the Germany squad which won the 2014 FIFA World Cup and reached the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2016. Draxler captained the young German side that won the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, a tournament in which Draxler was awarded the Golden Ball trophy – as the best player of the competition.
At the moment, he is not getting enough chances in Paris Saint Germain. PSG have Kylian Mbappe, Angel Di Maria and Neymar playing wide. So Draxler is amongst the substitutes for most of the time.
The winger’s skills and attributes are clearly suggesting that he has the potential to replace Alexis Sanchez in Arsenal. Julian Draxler would be keen to get chance in the first eleven of a renowned club in Europe and Arsenal could turn out ‘perfect’ for him next summer.
3. Riyad Mahrez :
The Algerian superstar footballer Riyad Mahrez is another perfectly fitting choice as replacement of Alexis Sanchez. Riyad played an important role during Leicester’s fairy tale of winning the Premier League in 2015-16 season, he also helped Leicester City to win the Championship in 2013-14.
In the 2015–16 he was awarded with Algerian Footballer of the Year, the PFA Players’ Player of the Year, and was a member of the Premier League PFA Team of the Year as he helped Leicester City win the Premier League.
Mahrez wished to leave Leicester City after the completion of 2016-17 season. Following the announcement of Mahrez, he was highly linked to Arsenal but things didn’t fall through. The scenario is completely changed now as Sanchez is on the verge of leaving and Arsene Wenger might be desperate to opt with experience replacing Sanchez.
4. Wilfried Zaha :
Wilfried Zaha can be a surprise choice to replace Alexis Sanchez. He is believed to have great potential from his Manchester United days, but the winger never lived up to the expectations. Joining Arsenal and working with Arsene Wenger could prove to be pivotal step in the career of Wilfried Zaha.
The academy product of Crystal Palace helped Palace to move to the Premier League from the Championship which earned him a move to Manchester United. But his skills were not judged properly in his Manchester United days in and was loaned to Cardiff City in the mid season. With high expectations at Old Trafford and failure to live up to the same saw him move to his childhood club Crystal Palace.
In 2016-17 Zaha started to get back to his game scoring 7 goals for Palace in 35 appearances. In this season also he has already scored 4 goals in 12 appearances(as on 22/12/2017).
Wilfried is only 25 years old and can be long-team solution. If Arsenal thinks of a long term process for the replacement of Alexis Sanchez, Zaha could be a good choice for them. Moreover,he has the experience of playing in the Premier League for last 5 seasons. If he gets adequate match time and is able to adjust with the Arsenal Squad, we can surely expect Wilfried Zaha to transform into a future Arsenal star.
These four players might be the best 4 choice of replacements for Arsenal if Alexis Sanchez leaves Arsenal in the next season. Though it would be nearly impossible to replace a star player like Alexis Sanchez easily. But changes are the only constant thing in life and Arsenal fans have to accept this.
