When analysing Arsenal over the Emirates Stadium era, it becomes apparent that there were very few as dazzling as Alexis Sanchez.
Signed from Barcelona in 2014, Sanchez quickly became a fan favourite for good reason, making his arrival known on the pitch.
The Chilean scored 80 goals in 166 appearances for Arsenal, proving to Arsene Wenger that he was the right hire.
Sanchez has been described as one of the best Premier League wingers the Gunners have had, racking up an eye-watering 34 goal contributions in the 2016/17 league campaign.
No current member of the Arsenal squad has walked remotely close to such numbers in recent years under Mikel Arteta, forcing fans to reflect on the past to get their fix of such dangerous wing play on the left.
While Sanchez left Arsenal as a disgraced figure in January 2018 to join Manchester United, the forward has becoming a topic of conversation once more.
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Fans react as Arsenal send message to Alexis Sanchez
On December 19th 1988, Sanchez was born in Tocopilla, Chile, with 2024 marking his 36th birthday.
Having joined Arsenal as a 25-year-old, the Gunners truly saw the former Barcelona ace at his best, but his greatness is now merely a memory for those in N5.
Such became apparent as the club sent a 10-word message to Sanchez on his 36th birthday, saying, “Capturing our hearts from the very beginning. Happy birthday, Alexis.”
Fans flooded to react to the well-wishes on X, which were accompanied by a video of the forward at his best in red and white.
The topic of not replacing the Chilean dominated responses to the message, with one supporter saying, “I need a player like this on that left wing now.”
“Just thinking about it, Alexis on the left, and Bukayo on the right. I know I will be the happiest man in my small kingdom,” another said.
While some celebrated what Sanchez had back in the day, others took the opportunity to compare the Emirates superstar to current left-winger, Gabriel Martinelli.
“He should be Martinelli’s role model,” an Arsenal supporter said, while another stressed that the Brazilian must learn from the former Gunner.
“Someone needs to lock Martinelli in a room for the next 2 weeks with only Sanchez clips. He should watch every clip, every match analysis,” one responded, while another echoed, “Martinelli please learn from him.”
Fans naturally couldn’t stop thinking about how Sanchez could have fitted into the current squad when in his prime, making the same reference about Martinelli.
- “Things I’d do to have him in this side.”
- “Now we have a total downgrade of Martinelli.”
- “This is the person I hoped Martinelli would become.”
- “If we had this guy in our team for the last 2 seasons, we would have won a league. Can’t believe we are rotting with Martinelli.”
Martinelli has been criticised for his form of late, most recently being called out by Thierry Henry, who questioned the Brazilian’s output.
A birthday wish for Sanchez rapidly formulated into a comparison between the Chilean and Martinelli, with fans clearly just reminiscing about what could have been.
What Sanchez said after leaving Arsenal
When reflecting on the greatness of Sanchez, it’s important to remember that the winger left the Emirates as a villain.
The now Udinese forward joined Manchester United midway through the 2017/18 season, which all-but ended his high regard in England.
At United, Sanchez only netted three Premier League goals, resulting in him later going public about his transfer regrets.
“Sometimes there are things that you don’t realise until you get there, and I remember the first training session I had, I realised a lot of things,” Sanchez said in 2020.
”After the session I got home and I told my family and my agent, ‘can you not rip up the contract to go back to Arsenal?’ They laughed.
“I told them there was something that didn’t sit right, it didn’t seem good. But I had already signed. I was already there. After the first few months, I carried on having the same feeling.”
Sanchez will have to live with his regrets but his Arsenal legacy will live on, being one of the most successful wide players in the club’s Premier League history – if only Arteta had him now.
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