Why Alexis Sanchez Struggling Against Leicester Shows Arsenal Must Buy a Striker

Arsenal’s draw with Leicester has left Gunners fans feeling deflated. In isolation, a point away to champions Leicester is no bad thing. However, in the broader context of an underwhelming start to the season, it has done little to brighten the mood. Arsene Wenger’s post-match comments have merely deepened the division between the manager and the increasingly disgruntled supporters.

There were positives to be drawn from this performance. An Arsenal side that shipped four goals against Liverpool managed to keep a clean sheet at the KC Stadium, with Laurent Koscielny and Rob Holding particularly impressive. Wenger must have been delighted to have Koscielny available again—and earlier than anticipated. Without the Frenchman’s timely interventions, Arsenal might well have lost this game.

As for Holding, his early impact has been greater than anyone could have expected. When he was signed from League One Bolton, it was assumed he would primarily provide cover. However, a spate of defensive injuries saw him granted a first-team opportunity, and he has seized the chance in style.

Against Leicester, he was surprisingly named in the starting XI ahead of Calum Chambers, who has significantly more Premier League experience.

However, Holding looked encouragingly assured. Speaking to Arsenal.com after the game, Wenger enthused about his new recruit:

I think he did remarkably well against top-class strikers today. For me he had an outstanding performance.

He’s 20 years old, he’s English and it’s a great reason to be happy. As long as players don’t cost a huge amount of money, people don’t give them any qualities. 

We have to be stronger than that and just acknowledge how good he is. Koscielny added to our stability today and I’m very pleased with that. We still have to look around to strengthen our squad. Overall that’s what we tried to do.

If Holding continues to progress at this rate, Arsenal fans won’t care what he cost. They could still do with the addition of a senior defender to provide depth and experience, but that …

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