Why dropping Anthony Martial for Alexis Sanchez would be a mistake for Man Utd

Upon completing his move from Arsenal, Sanchez was asked by 'MUTV' as to what his favourite position is, replying: "I really like to play down the left, through the middle… but to tell you the truth, as long as I'm playing football, I'll fit in anywhere."

Whilst the overall message is a positive one - that the former Barca man is content to play wherever his manager feels his talent is best suited - the first line will no doubt sent shivers down the spine of Anthony 'Tony' Martial.

The French forward has been one of United's star performers in recent weeks, scoring in three successive Premier League games for the first time in his United career and finally starting to show the form that convinced the 'Red Devils' to part with a fee worth up to £58m for his services back in 2015.

 

20 January 2018

The 22-year-old has forced his way into Jose Mourinho's thinking this campaign - a notoriously difficult thing to do - leapfrogging Marcus Rashford in the Old Trafford pecking order after starting the season on the bench.

Martial has already scored 11 goals and provided nine assists in 32 games in all competitions, already outstripping his return last season, whilst his nine goals and four assists in the Premier League have come from just thirteen starts.

However, with the bulk of Sanchez's Arsenal appearances coming from the left wing and with the Chilean having been played from the left during his debut in the FA Cup victory at Yeovil on Friday night, Martial could be forgiven for having one or two sleepless nights.

Whilst many would put a player of Sanchez's quality straight into their team regardless of who it would displace, doing so would seem incredibly harsh on Martial.

The France international has the third best minutes-per-goal involvement in the Premier League so far this season, contributing to a goal every 83.5 minutes, behind only Sergio Aguero (72.3) and Mohamed Salah (73.9), whilst he is also creating more chances per 90 minutes than ever before in his manchester United career with 2.07, compared to 1.44  last season and 1.23 during his debut campaign.

With Sanchez earning a reported £600,000 per week, it is hard to seem him spending any significant time on the bench.

The 29-year-old played some of his best football at Arsenal coming in off the left, but with stiffer competition in Martial than anything he ever faced at the Emirates, the Chilean may be forced to play more centrally or even off the right as Jose Mourinho looks to add a cutting edge to his well-drilled side.

Another option for Sanchez would be to play up font, but that would likely require a complete change of system to accomodate two strikers, something Mourinho is unlikely to experiment with mid-season.

Mourinho will no doubt be delighted to face such a selection dilemma as United look to compete with bitter rivals Manchester City for honours on all fronts.