3. Sanchez, the One Man Army
If it weren’t for Alexis Sanchez, Wenger would have been moaning about another occasion in which his players failed to make the most out of the possession that they enjoyed. Danny Welbeck had the sort of the game that led to him being labelled not up to the mark at Manchester United. Santi Cazorla missed two guilt-edged chances and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had one of those games in which he ran around a lot, hassling and harrying opposing defenders, but doing precious little going forward. Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini were only just starting to get used to one another’s games.
In fact, the defence, which many had qualms about before the start of the game was where the visitors were strong. Nacho Monreal deputised well at centre back and the others too had a good game. But the only player in the side that looked like scoring a goal was Sanchez and it was no surprise to see the Chilean get up on the score sheet. Whether it is giving Joel Campbell and Lukas Podolski a chance or giving Aarron Ramsey more game time, Wenger has to do something to reduce the work load on the Chilean attacker, who at times, seems to be carrying the burden of attacking all on himself.