Alexis Sanchez shouldering Arsenal's hopes and dreams again this season

Tom Adams says an opening-day defeat to West Ham showed Arsenal have lost none of their reliance on the restless Alexis Sanchez.

It's a good thing Alexis Sanchez is an unrepentant workaholic. As much as Sunday's defeat to Aston Villa showed what joining Arsenal will do to the most consistently excellent goalkeeper of the past decade, it also highlighted to the extent to which Sanchez continues to carry the hopes and dreams of a club on his shoulders.

Finding themselves 2-0 down to West Ham on a calamitous opening weekend, it was to Sanchez, again, that Arsene Wenger turned to for salvation as he was summoned from the bench to try and rescue a match he really shouldn't have been playing in at all.

Sanchez only returned from his post-Copa America holiday three days before the game against West Ham - barely enough time to get on first-name terms with his new goalkeeper. Not that it seemed to be much of a holiday, judging by the insights gleaned from his Instagram account.

 

While other notable Premier League personalities sent their summers partying in Ibiza or being pictured unconscious in the street in Tenerife, Sanchez posted videos of himself determinedly practicing headers on the beach and doing shuttle runs in the sand. You could just picture the Chilean firing out 75 lengths of the hotel pool before 8am, swigging Lucozade instead of cocktails and turning his nose up at the all-inclusive buffet to request steamed chicken and pasta.

"Alex without running around is not Alex, you know," Wenger said, ahead of Sunday’s game. "You can't imagine him lying on the beach somewhere and not moving. He came back in good fitness shape so that is quite positive, but I am not surprised by that because I can't imagine him lying around for four weeks and doing nothing. That wouldn't be him."

This is a man for whom work never stops, whose 9-5 is 24/7. Which is handy for Arsenal, who may require him to get through rather a lot again this season. In 2014-15, it is worth recalling, he was implicitly essential for Arsenal. His tally of a combined 24 goals and assists resulted in 18 points won - which made him the third most influential player in England by such a measurement.

During those halcyon pre-season days, when everything seemed right with the world, before real life came at Arsenal fast in the form of a vigorous West Ham, Wenger spoke about how he hoped to see more of a goal contribution from his midfielders this season. A more collaborative effort would aid the process of winning more games.

"I think we have to depend less on one guy to score all the goals, and develop a collective aspect," he said, about the possibility of over-reliance on Olivier Giroud. "I don't see why Chamberlain should not score 10 goals. Sanchez can score goals. I think Ozil has to fix himself a target of at least 10 for a guy who plays behind the striker. You want more from him on goalscoring."

But all the squalid surrender to West Ham emphasised was the fact that after a summer in which they have not (yet) reinforced their attack, Arsenal remain heavily reliant on Sanchez - for inspiration and attacking leadership as much as for the liquid currency of goals themselves.

Arsenal's Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil look dejected after West Ham's second goal - Reuters

When teams are content to stay compact - as West Ham rightly were at 2-0 up away from home - Arsenal can struggle to find a way through. Against West Ham, Ozil faded from view, Aaron Ramsey's scoops went uncollected and when chances did fall to Giroud, he either snatched at them or failed to hit the target.

With Theo Walcott being starved of the space to run in behind, it made for an infuriatingly impotent portfolio and a demoralising way in which to start the season. 

Sanchez, when he arrived on 67 minutes, changed things. Suddenly he was breaking through the lines and testing Adrian with a couple of fizzing low efforts; Arsenal had an edge again, albeit not much of one. 

It is worth reiterating that, after their prolific pre-season, to gain a semblance of threat in their first proper game they needed to call on the player who had missed all of the summer friendlies and had only arrived back at London Colney just days before.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger looks on as Alexis Sanchez waits to come on as substitute - Reuters

Sanchez's remarkably early return to action was testament to his own relentless dedication - it is doubtful Arsenal have ever possessed a player who works as hard as he does - but also a red flag regarding the extent to which Arsenal will require him to dig them out of holes again this season.

His crucial importance to Arsenal's fortunes means Sanchez never gets a rest. That's the way he likes it, but in physiological terms it's unlikely to be the recommended course of action for an elite athlete.

Sanchez has played 131 games for club and country since the start of the 2013-14 season and as long ago as December Wenger said he was in the infamous “red zone” - the state which indicates injury is not far away.

But he continues; unbroken, unstoppable and undroppable. And the summer's events have seemingly done little to ease the burden on his shoulders.