Alexis Sanchez Tipped to Win PFA Player of the Year at Arsenal by Thierry Henry

Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez has been tipped to pick up the PFA Player of the Year award by Gunners legend Thierry Henry, with the Frenchman claiming the forward can fire them to the Premier League title.

“I think the player of the season will be Alexis Sanchez,” said Henry at a fantasy football launch, per Toby Keel of Eurosport.com. “I’m just saying it because he has already had an amazing season. If Arsenal want to win the league he has to have that type of season, and I think he can.”

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There’s no denying that Sanchez was one of the standout performers during his debut season in Arsenal colours. The ex-Barcelona man mixes intricate footwork and an industry rarely seen among wingers, making him one of the most dangerous attackers anywhere in the game.

As we can see here courtesy of Squawka Football, in addition to the 16 Premier League goals he slotted in 2014-15, Sanchez is a creative force of nature too:

While logic dictates the player will get even better in English football’s top flight second time round, Alexis will need to be nurtured through the opening weeks of the season by manager Arsene Wenger.

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After all, Sanchez was a key figure in Chile winning the Copa America this summer, scoring the winning penalty in the final, which was played on July 4.

It means the Arsenal star has not had quite as much recuperation time as a lot of his team-mates and as such, Wenger has already confirmed the forward will miss the first game of the Premier League season, per Nick Callow of the Guardian.

But Sanchez definitely deserves his rest, as noted here by BreatheSport:

"

Alexis Sanchez has played 76 games in 15 months. World Cup, Prem, UCL, FA Cup & Copa America. Next time you hear a player say he's tired...

— BreatheSport (@BreatheSport) July 5, 2015"

Hopefully some extra time off means we’ll see Sanchez back at his brilliant best very soon. But when you play the game in the all-action manner he does, there’s always a danger of burnout taking a grip at some point in the season. It’s something Alexis will have to ensure he doesn’t endure in 2015-16 if he’s to winning the big individual gong.

When Sanchez was at his best last season there was arguably no better player in the league and if he can showcase those levels more consistently, the prize will be there for the taking. Indeed, if he can be the driving force behind an overdue title triumph for the Gunners, there’ll only be one winner of the award.