Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has stated that Alexis Sanchez is best as a centre forward and is comparable to Manchester City star Sergio Aguero.
Since moving to North London from Barcelona two years ago, the Chile international has most commonly been utilised on the left flank by Arsene Wenger.
However, with Olivier Giroud currently unavailable and Lucas Perez still getting to grips with English football, Sanchez has been deployed as the furthest man forward in both the Premier League and the Champions League.
The South American has been among the goals in this role, netting against Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, with the versatile attacker a key player in the London club’s positive start to the new campaign.
Keown has stated that a centre forward role is where Arsenal should continue to use Sanchez and that the Chilean star is just as good as Premier League hotshot Aguero at leading the line.
“I saw him play up front for Chile at the World Cup, having only ever seen him play out wide for Barcelona, and his work-rate, pace and ability on the ball were so impressive,” he told The Daily Mail.
“Defenders hate that, I remember playing against Ian Rush and he was an absolute pest – you didn’t want the ball when he was around.
“When Wenger signed Sanchez I thought Arsenal’s closing down from the front was going to be the best it’s ever been, and it’s been a mystery to me why it’s taken so long for him to be played down the middle.
“He has looked fantastic there so far and he will only get better as he learns more about the position.
“Over the past few matches I can’t think of another striker who has contributed more to the team than him – he’s looked like Sergio Aguero of late.
“He missed a few chances to score against Basel on Wednesday, and that can’t be good news for Burnley this weekend!”
