Alexis not to blame for Arsenal scoring woes - Wenger

Dom Farrell

Alexis not to blame for Arsenal scoring woes - Wenger image

Arsene Wenger does not want Alexis Sanchez to bear the brunt of Arsenal's wasteful run in front of goal.

Chile international Sanchez, who was heavily linked with a move to Manchester City before the last transfer deadline and is out for contract at the end of the season, has only managed four Premier League goals this term.

He has been particularly profligate since last netting in a 5-0 win over Huddersfield Town, with Arsenal following up their 3-1 defeat to Manchester United with draws on the road against Southampton and West Ham.

After Wednesday's stalemate at London Stadium, Wenger told a news conference: "In a situation like that you do not want to focus on one player, you focus more on the collective attitude of the team and keep them focused on the quality of our game.

Alexis Sanchez Arsenal

"We create chances. The goals will come. It's difficult to say he's had a dip. He tried. It was difficult because they defended very well as well."

Wenger believes Arsenal running into a David de Gea masterclass as they created reams of chances against United has had a lingering impact upon his attackers as a collective.

"The 33 shots on goal and the chances we missed against Manchester United maybe had a little bit of an impact," he added, with Arsenal lying seventh in the Premier League – a point behind Tottenham, Liverpool and Burnley.

"We have to continue to focus on the quality of our game and not to focus too much on the fact that we are not ruthless at the moment.

"That will come back by not making too big a problem of it."

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.