It’s now more than a year on from Alexis Sanchez’s move to Manchester United from Arsenal, however, he continues to struggle at Old Trafford.
Many fans doubting whether he will ever replicate his performances for the Gunners with United.
Manchester United legend Paul Ince branded Alexis Sanchez nothing short of a disgrace after his performance in Champions League defeat(2-0) to PSG.
Ince said: “His performance are a joke for the wage he gets.”
Sanchez admitted he has to start justifying his whopping £505,000-a-week wages NOW. Worried Sanchez confessed:“I have to perform. That’s what I’m here for, to make a difference.A player like me needs to show it right now, I don’t think there is time.”
The 30-year-old has scored just five goals in his 37 United games.
“It worries me, because I believe in my abilities. When a footballer no longer believes in his ability, it’s game over – but I think it will come. I’m hard on myself, too. I want to play, I want to get at defenders,” Sanchez added.
He claims he has struggled as a substitute, adding: “You’re in, you’re out, and I’m used to playing, but it’s not an excuse, because if I go on for ten or 20 minutes I have to perform. I love to play all the time, always. I play football at home. I’d go and play in a garden right now because I love football. I don’t know how people see me, but football is my passion.”
We’ve compared his 2018-19 Premier League stats to those from his most productive season at Arsenal, 2016-17, to see just what has changed.
Goals and Assists
In 2016-17 campaign Sanchez scored 24 times and provided a further 10 assists in 38 Premier League games, coming at a rate of a goal or assist every 94.8 minutes. However, the 30-year-old has appeared in 14 Premier League matches this season and only six have been as starts. He has scored once and provided three assists, at one every 153.8 minutes.
Passing and attacking
Sanchez has created an average of 2.8 chances per 90 minutes – which is actually the highest figure among Manchester United’s squad. And that figure is also higher than he registered for Arsenal in 2016-17 when he created an average of 2.2 chances per 90 minutes.
At United, he has averaged 1.5 successful dribbles per 90 minutes, a 50% completion rate of those attempted. For Arsenal, he recorded a higher completion rate of 66.6%.
Likewise, he has been more wasteful with his passing, with his pass completion rate decreasing from 78.7% to 72.9%.
However, his figures for unsuccessful touches have actually improved (2.6 per 90 at Arsenal compared to 1.8 at United), as well as for the number of times he is dispossessed (3.6 to 2.8).
Defensive contributions
Sanchez averaging more completed tackles per 90 minutes (1.8 to 1.5) than he did during 2016-17, which have also come at a better success rate (81.8% to 65.2%). His interceptions have also increased from 0.7 per 90 minutes to 0.9.
Stats by
Planet Football
