Why Alexis Sanchez Is the 1 Arsenal Player Bayern Munich Would Love to Sign

Bayern Munich face Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday, with the opportunity to make a huge stride towards qualification for the knockout rounds as they lead Group F with a perfect record of six points from two games.

The Gunners enter the match with their backs against the wall, having failed to take a single point from their opening group-stage matches with Olympiakos and Dynamo Zagreb, who are tied on three points.

Yet despite Arsenal’s severe underperformance thus far, there are some players of huge quality in their squad. And indeed, there are even a few who would improve Bayern were they to make the move to the Allianz Arena. Principally, the man Bayern would love to have is Alexis Sanchez.

Since joining Arsenal in the summer of 2014, Sanchez has been arguably Arsenal’s best and most consistent player. He scored 25 goals last season from his position on the wing, and amid Olivier Giroud’s inconsistency he was a great source of stability in the Gunners’ attack.

Pep Guardiola is very well aware of Sanchez’s talent, having signed the Chilean from Udinese in 2011. The pair worked together during Guardiola’s final year at Barcelona, during which time Sanchez became a regular starter in a very competitive team.

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

Sanchez is not the only Arsenal player with talent that would catch Guardiola’s eye and improve the Bayern team.

The Gunners also have a gem in Mesut Ozil, who has always appeared a Guardiola-type player with otherworldly playmaking sense and an incredibly refined passing ability.

Yet as Spanish source Sport reported last October, Guardiola turned down a chance to sign the Germany international in 2010 despite his Barcelona side being in a good position to make a purchase from Werder Bremen.

The reason, allegedly, was that Guardiola was concerned that signing Ozil would hinder Thiago Alcantara’s ascendency to the first team, and thus the Schalke academy graduate moved to Real Madrid instead.

In 2013, Guardiola moved to Munich and signed a different German playmaker, Mario Gotze. And in addition, Bayern brought in his protege, Thiago. Ozil would join Arsenal later in the same transfer window, a second case in which he was overlooked by Guardiola as a potential transfer target.

Sanchez, on the other hand, already was recruited once by Guardiola and would help fill an area of more immediate need.

While Bayern have two relatively young playmaking options in midfield in Thiago (24) and Gotze (23), they face a more pressing issue on the wings as Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben advance in age.

New recruit Douglas Costa already has established himself as Frenchman’s heir apparent, a dribbling wizard and assist-king on the flank.

At the same time, the right wing is not as clear-cut for Bayern in the long-term. Robben is a year younger than Ribery, but turns 32 in January and will need to be replaced sooner or later.

To this end, it makes sense that Bayern signed Kingsley Coman on loan from Juventus over the summer. Yet with the 19-year-old, there is no guarantee as to how he will turn out and exactly how long it might take for him to reach his peak.

Sanchez turns 27 in December, is in the very peak of his career and has class that has been proven in the Premier League, the Spanish Primera, the Champions League and for Chile at the World Cup and Copa America.

Bayern currently have a brilliant squad with enviable depth and few key players of advancing age. In the last year or so, they've managed to negotiate a few hurdles by replacing aging stars like Dante, Bastian Schweinsteiger and, apparently, Ribery, and there is reason to believe they won't have much trouble in Robben's situation when the time comes.

Suffice to say, Bayern don't exactly need Sanchez. But if there's one Arsenal player the Bavarians would benefit from signing, it's the Chilean. He's in his prime and would absolutely compete for a starting role. Especially in a Bayern squad that has been plagued with injuries, he'd be a welcome addition.

@Mr_Bundesliga