A Progress Report on the Form of Arsenal's Summer Signing Alexis Sanchez

Arsene Wenger made Alexis Sanchez his first and most important signing of this past summer's transfer window. Unlike last year's marquee purchase, he seems to be paying immediate dividends.

Whereas Mesut Ozil was inefficacious for a long stretch after his arrival last season, Alexis has fit perfectly into the Premier League and Arsenal's setup, finding his feet after a couple games and becoming the centerpiece of the Gunners' attack.

It's no surprise, considering how Ozil and Alexis play.

The former is a deliberate, languid sort of player who lulls the opposition to sleep before slipping past them to create one brilliant moment. Alexis is exactly the opposite: The kind of man who can barely walk after each game and is virtually always moving.

His playing style was apparent from his first game. Almost always deployed on the wing, he served both as a winger and a full-back, tracking the run of whomever tried to get down his flank. He even made frequent tackles in midfield.

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Alexis has been an invaluable respite from the staid, boring play that has characterized Arsenal's attack for much of the season. The Gunners have never quite seemed to be able to get out of their rut of endless passing on the edge of the penalty area and running into a defensive wall.

The Chilean is not content to merely give the ball to other players and let them do the work, as is often the attitude toward Ozil when he plays.

Though he will frequently surrender possession to another player so that he may receive the ball again in a better position, Alexis usually tries to drive forward himself, taking on one or two men in the process.

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This is, of course, not typical of Arsenal players because Wenger's philosophy is predicated on selflessness and fluid passing slicing defenses apart.

Too much of this formula, though, will produce a predictable and easily defended attack.

Arsenal are so much better when they have someone who is willing to take the game into his own hands (or feet) and has the skill to create chances for himself. It's why they've flourished when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has played, and why direct players like Lukas Podolski are such effective substitutes.

Oxlade-Chamberlain recently waxed lyrical about his fellow winger:

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It's moments of brilliance like that [which show his quality] but at the same time he works harder than I think I've seen anyone work. He is so skilful but he also does the defensive work up-front and sets the tone.

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Is that worth £32 million? Absolutely. Though Arsenal needed a center-back more than they needed a winger when Alexis was signed, it is difficult to imagine the front three without him now.

His task now will be maintaining his current level of play while not getting burned out. England's New Year schedule is notoriously brutal, and if he does not take a game off here and there (since he will never put in anything less than maximum effort during a game), he will either get injured, see a dip in quality or both.

It's Wenger's responsibility to manage the man who has at times carried his team this season: Rotation, rotation, rotation, as much as the Frenchman inexplicably hates to do so.

But it will be difficult to take Alexis out of the team. His demonstrated propensity to turn a game on its head at any moment is one of the rarest things in football.

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