Arsenal Must Play Hardball over Alexis Sanchez's International Commitments

The curse of November is beginning to strike Arsenal. As supporters wait anxiously for signs that their annual collapse is about to kick in, some bad news has already landed.

With the players away on international duty, two stars have reported injury problems: Spanish full-back Hector Bellerin and Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez. Arsenal must do all they can to protect their assets, particularly Alexis—the forward has been absolutely integral to their strong start to the season.

Alexis was with the Chile squad when he limped out of training earlier this week with a leg injury. He was immediately ruled out of last night’s match with Colombia, and Arsenal may well have expected him to return to London to recuperate. Instead, he has remained with the Chile squad, with the national team optimistic he may be able to face Uruguay next week. 

Unsurprisingly, that decision seems to have irked an already concerned Arsene Wenger. In an interview with beIN Sports (h/t the Guardian's Ed Aarons), Wenger said:

"

I got a text last night [to say] that he has a hamstring injury. The team from Chile has travelled without him and they kept him to try and get him fit to play Uruguay for the second game on Tuesday night. 

I believe that with a hamstring injury we have to get access for our medical staff to the MRI scan to see what grade it is, how bad it is and make absolutely sure they don’t make any suicidal decision that could harm his future for two or three months. 

That is absolutely important. It’s a grey area between the national team and the club team and of course they look at their own results which I can understand but we have to preserve the health of Alexis Sanchez.

He always wants to play and that’s where it is a more sensitive case because he’s always ready to play even when injured. 

"

Wenger’s final line encapsulates the problem with Alexis. Watch him play, and his sheer desire is his defining quality. He chases every ball, never shirks a challenge and leaps to battle for headers against players who tower over him. He has remarkable fitness levels and is seemingly able to produce lung-bursting sprints even in the closing moments of a match. 

That, of course, tempts Wenger to keep on playing him. Alexis is so important to Arsenal—even when tiring, he remains one of the club’s most important players. With the signs of fatigue so brilliantly disguised, the urge to continue picking Alexis must be huge. 

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The problem is that Alexis simply doesn’t know when to stop. He’s spectacular but rarely sensible. Any time he is substituted, he sulks in a manner akin to a child being called in from playing by a hen-pecking mother. Alexis seems to live for the game. 

For a manager, that’s something of a double-edged sword: his dedication is admirable, but his desire to push to the limits of his physical capacity has a cost.

While some players might carefully monitor their conditioning, Alexis finds it impossible to put the brake on. You could never question his commitment on the field, but he’s not necessarily strategically intelligent when it comes to managing his body.

Speaking at the start of this season, Wenger explained to reporters that it’s difficult to enforce a period of rest upon Alexis:

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The problem with Sanchez is to be cautious with him because it's nearly impossible.

But you know what I did, I gave him a long break because I know that this was needed for him.

They played two Copa Americas in a row and in England you don't have a winter break. He got an injury. I know as well that you give Sanchez five weeks holiday, he will stay quiet one week and after he will start to run everywhere, and he comes back fit.

I hope I got it right, that he had a good rest and regenerated a little bit, because he looks alright. We will see on Sunday.

"

Alexis admitted as much himself. This has been a frequent bone of contention between player and manager, and the Chilean told ESPN Brazil (h/t the Express): "He told me to rest, but I don’t like to rest. Neither in the matches. I don’t like to be out, I get upset, I go home sad, because I train to play, I rest to play. It’s my job and I do everything to perform at 100 per cent."

However, it’s time for Wenger and Alexis to realise that this relentless approach to the game has the potential to be as damaging as it is beneficial. Playing through the pain barrier could have major repercussions for player and club. If Alexis plays against Uruguay, he must stand a significant chance of doing real damage. A lengthy absence now would deliver a big blow to Arsenal’s promising title challenge. 

Arsenal have been burnt by this before. Last season, they lost Alexis for six weeks to a hamstring injury. Doing so in 2016/17 would arguably be even more costly—lately, Alexis has become central, in every respect, to the way the Gunners play. 

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His transformation into a central striker has revitalised Arsenal’s attacking play, bringing speed and variety to their forward line. The blow of losing him would be exacerbated by the fact that the two most obvious replacements for him in the Arsenal squad, Lucas Perez and Danny Welbeck, are also sidelined. 

Losing him for the forthcoming match against Manchester United would be a major blow. Having failed to beat Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby last time out, that match has taken on even greater significance.

It’s a chance for Arsenal to pick up a signature win that would really assert their title credentials. Without Alexis, that would be much tougher. Olivier Giroud is a competent replacement but not one capable of emulating the Chilean’s all-action style. 

A more prolonged absence would bring further problems. Arsenal would be forced to revert to an old way of playing, or alternatively, Wenger would have to come up with a new formula for his forward line. Either way, it would certainly disrupt their positive momentum. 

With Alexis currently in contract negotiations with the club, the situation is sensitive. However, Wenger must make a powerplay here and demand that Alexis does not face Uruguay. Allowing him to do so would be, as he put it, "suicidal."

Alexis might not like it, but he must respect the wishes of his paymasters. Arsenal would be acting in their own interests, but it would also be sensible from a medical perspective.

Arsenal are Alexis’ primary employers, and the player ought to respect that. His will to represent his country is admirable, but it should not come at the cost of Arsenal’s Premier League campaign. 

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout 2016/17. Follow him on Twitter here.