Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger foresees Alexis Sanchez staying in the striking role that brought him a hat-trick in the 5-1 victory over West Ham United as long as the Chilean is scoring goals.
Pushed further forward this season, Sanchez has now scored seven goals in his past five league games.
His hat-trick against West Ham was the second of his Arsenal career.
Photo: AP
“Yes, I think he prefers playing as a striker. He likes the position. People like to play as a striker. If it doesn’t work, they prefer their first position. If it comes off, they want to stay there,” Wenger said.
“Alexis has the qualities to play there. All the ingredients to be a top class striker and he shows that. He has good movement, he is sharp, he is quick to close down, he can dribble, has a short back-lift and he has a killer instinct,” he said.
Wenger was delighted with the performance of his team at London Stadium, which maintained their unbeaten record away from home.
“Overall, it was a very strong team performance for 90 minutes today. Our only regret is that we didn’t take our chances in the first half,” the Frenchman said. “We are scoring more goals away from home than at home. Is that because we play with a bit more freedom? Away from home, we have been very convincing.”
West Ham coach Slaven Bilic was adamant that only regaining last season’s intensity would pull West Ham away from the relegation zone — they were sitting just a single point above it.
“We had some good spells in the game, like we’ve had some good spells this season, but we have to be honest and say we don’t do it every game for the whole game,” Bilic said. “Yes, we were still in the game with 20 minutes to go, but I cannot say that Arsenal didn’t deserve to win. Arsenal are very lethal and they like to play on a big pitch, but I’m very disappointed, frustrated and humiliated. I want to say sorry to the fans and the club, and everyone connected with West Ham United.”
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