Why Aguero-Sanchez Swap Deal Makes Perfect Sense For Manchester City
It seems like Manchester City are going to leave no stone unturned in their pursuit of Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean international is on top of Pep Guardiola’s summer shopping list and a report from the Daily Star claims that the Citizens are willing to part with one of their star players in order to sign Alexis. And that star is none other than talismanic striker Sergio Aguero.
City are willing to swap their Argentine maverick with Arsenal in order to get their hands on Sanchez in the summer, as per the reports. While that does seem a little outrageous, does it make sense for the Citizens to sell the club’s best player for the best part of this decade? Let’s take a look.
Aguero has been the chief architect for all the recent success that City have achieved since the early parts of this decade. Having joined from Atletico Madrid back in the summer of 2011, Aguero led the Sky Blues to their first ever Premier League title in the 2011/12 season with that historic last-minute goal against Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the season. He was also the main protagonist of the Citizens’ second title win in 2013/14 and has also managed to win two League Cups with the club.
In his six seasons with the blue half of Manchester, the Argentine international has managed a whopping 169 goals from 253 games, and is City’s second highest goal-scorer ever, just behind Eric Brook (177), cementing his status as a club icon.
This past season, however, was somewhat a rocky one for the talisman. He may have managed another campaign with brilliant return of 33 goals from 45 games all competitions, but the tension and the friction between the striker and City’s new manager Pep Guardiola was palpable to say the least.
The former Bayern Munich and Barcelona boss dropped Aguero on several occasions and was often found pointing out at the striker’s inadaptability to his philosophy and tactics. Aguero’s lack of willingness to press from the front is something that hasn’t gone down too well with his manager and there were a lot of questions raised over his future at the club.
On the other hand, Alexis has been slaying it since he arrived at Arsenal from Barcelona in the summer of 2014. The Chilean international has been at the forefront of the Gunners’ two FA Cup successes in 2014-15 and 2016-17. In his three seasons at the Emirates so far, the 28-year old has scored 72 goals from 145 games and has established himself as a firm fan favourite.
This past season was his personal best with the North Londoners, as he finished with an impressive tally of 30 strikes and 19 assists from 51 games in all competitions, despite the Gunners’ poor league and European campaigns. However, there are huge question marks over his future at the club, as he enters the final twelve months of his contract with the club. There has been no real progress achieved in any negotiations over a new deal.
Having worked with Sanchez in the past during his Barcelona days, Guardiola knows exactly what he will be getting from the Chilean. The 28-year old, who excelled in his new role of playing as a centre-forward last season for Arsenal, he brings the work-rate and the high press from the top that Guardiola so much craves for and wants from his striker.
His work ethic when his team is not in possession is what endears him so much to the Catalan manager and makes him a perfect fit for Pep’s philosophy and style. And add to that, he scores at a prolific rate too and creates much more for his teammates than what Aguero does.
Aguero has been brilliant for City over the last six years, but when the manager and the player don’t see eye to eye, it is possibly the right time to move on. In Sanchez, they will be getting a player of equal calibre, with proven credentials in the Premier League and someone who will be a much better fit into the scheme of things of the manager, than the Argentine.
While, it will hurt the fans to lose Aguero – the hero of their title victories, on taking a closer look at the situation, it does seem that bringing in Sanchez at his expense will be the ideal transfer for City to reach great heights under Guardiola.