Is it time for Alexis Sánchez to shine before the January transfer market opens?

Ahead of GW17 we unveiled our blueprint for success and it’s fair to say that Big Sam’s Everton did not let us down by securing that precious clean sheet at St James’ Park, so hopefully the Toffees can follow that up, by recording another shutout when they entertain Swansea City in the Monday Night Football at Goodison Park.

However, it is not all plain sailing and we do have some concerns going into GW18, most noticeably. who to give the captain’s armband to, so we are contemplating taking a hit.

With Spurs in action at the Etihad against Manchester City, it is tempting to sacrifice Harry Kane and doing so gives us a plethora of options. It is worth pointing out that Kane does have a double gameweek in GW22 due to Spurs’ clash with West Ham being moved for safety reasons, so we might need to look to bring him back in for that one but a short-term gamble might well be worth the risk.

Mohamed Salah is obviously tempting since we still do not own him but if there is one player that is capable of out-performing the Egyptian, it is surely the forgotten man, Alexis Sánchez.

It’s anybody’s guess as to exactly how long Sánchez will remain an Arsenal player but the Chilean international has the pick of the fixtures this weekend and if he really is mooting for a move in January, then it is surely the perfect time to remind everyone of his undoubted talent.

Swapping a midfielder for a forward means that another player also needs to be shown the exit door, so Southampton’s Charlie Austin also comes into the mix on the strength of his GW19 home fixture against Huddersfield Town, with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting the makeweight in the deal.

 

Many will see this as a huge gamble and we could easily be left with egg on our face but at the same time Sánchez is more than capable of a huge score and is a real differential nowadays.

On the back of this decision he needs to be handed the armband and we’ve also opted for a 4-4-2 formation in GW18. All of our defenders play at home this weekend and we like the look of 4 of their fixtures.

The January sales are just around the corner – will Alexis showcase his talent by putting Newcastle United to the sword or will we regret taking this 4 point hit?