Rumours have been floating about Arsene Wenger being keenly interested in Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez and Paris Saint-Germain’s attacker Ezequiel Lavezzi. Both Sanchez and Lavezzi have similar styles and occupy similar positions on the pitch and Wenger would mostly be looking for some finishing and creativity up field in these two supporting strikers. Here is a statistical comparison (courtesy of squawka)between the two players, who are the targets of many clubs, including rivals Chelsea.
The stats clearly state that Sanchez is a country mile better than his Argentine counterpart. Also the fact that Sanchez has managed to grab such a huge amount of playing time in a club like Barcelona who have an abundance of top class players in his position including the inform Spaniard Pedro. During his three year stint with the Catalan club, Sanchez has managed to score 44 goals and assist several others in 118 appearances since moving from Udinese back in 2011.
Lavezzi on the other hand has been criticized by his manager Laurent Blanc for not being clinical enough as he only uses his pace to get away from defenders, but hardly has he finished his chances as he has only 9 goals in the league, which he may not catch up with even if he would have played the same number of minutes as much as Sanchez.
Sanchez also has many more assists in comparison to Lavezzi’s none. This shows that Lavezzi lacks the true providing skills, especially as his strike partners are deadly finishers like Cavani and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. With lesser strikers available at Arsenal, Sanchez would be way more creative than Lavezzi. Alexis Sanchez is known to work hard with tackles and closing down and that would surely aid his case in Premier League football if he does come to any club in England. So if the Gunners are looking for a striker who would be a good option next to a relatively poacher type of player, then Sanchez would be a way better signing than Lavezzi.
Suitablity to the club:
Apart from the stats speaking, both the players are definitely an upgrade to the current crop of players at the helm. Lavezzi at 29, has the experience in him to give his best for a good part of three more years, while Sanchez with his technical ability and directness towards his approach can be a massive improvement to the Gunners goal threat upfront. Another appealing point in favour of the Chilean is his versatility. Sanchez is capable of playing on the right side of the front three or as a second fiddle to Olivier Giroud allowing Theo Walcott to play in his natural position.
Verdict:
With reports suggesting that the Chilean is frustrated at Bareclona given the lack of playing time, it is the perfect opportunity for Arsenal to swoop in and land the highly talented attacker. Further, his performances against Australian and Spain in the World Cup suggest that he doesn’t crumble under pressure and can stand up when called upon, even on the biggest of stages.