Gunners’ summer signing is the better buy.
While you truly cannot argue with the fine work done by Chelsea in the summer transfer window and by their position in the Premier League table as a consequence, it is in this writer’s opinion that Arsenal pulled off the purchase of the whole summer.
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It is Chelsea new-boy Diego Costa stealing the headlines in the Premier League, and perhaps rightly so as his 11 goals have helped the Blues to the top of the table. Still, there is something far more exciting about the way Alexis Sanchez is playing at the moment that suggests he could lift the Gunners to new heights in the next few years.
The mere fact that the Chilean forward has managed to shine in this under-performing, unconfident, injury-wridden team speaks for itself. It is frightening to think what Sanchez could do if he were enjoying the service of Cesc Fabregas, Oscar, Eden Hazard and co. at Stamford Bridge, in this generally well-oiled and solid Jose Mourinho side that is flawless in basically every position on the pitch.
While Costa himself is a vitally important part of that, doing the business in front of goal that the likes of Fernando Torres and Demba Ba failed to do previously, he is still a slightly more one-dimensional centre-forward, finishing moves off with deadly accuracy and precision but without the same spark and magic that Sanchez provides with almost every touch of the ball.
The former Barcelona man also has more goals than Costa so far, taking into account all competitions. Yes, he has played more games than his Spanish counterpart, but 12 strikes in 17 appearances playing wide right, wide left, as a false 9 and even as the lone striker is hugely impressive from the 25-year-old.
While Costa may be the finishing piece of a great puzzle at Chelsea, Sanchez is single-handedly keeping Arsenal alive this season, and it is hard to imagine he won’t prove the catalyst to a great period of success if Arsene Wenger can build a better team around him in the next couple of transfer windows, with a player of this ability deserving a solid defence and midfield behind him to allow his talent to deliver more than just fourth place.