Sanchez could be the missing ingredient

Alexis Sanchez could be the one thing the Gunners need to mount a sustained Premier League challenge in the season ahead.

The Chilean international, just 25 years of age, netted 47 goals from 141 appearances for Barcelona and scored twice the World Cup in Brazil – when he truly shone for his country. And when you can score at that rate in La Liga for Barca – you can surely do even better in the Premier League in front of a team that will most assuredly give you all the opportunities you need. And that’s why Alexis Sanchez could really help tip the scales in the Gunners’ favour this season.

The £35 million shelled out by the club also helps signal our ambition. This is the kind of signing them fans have been clamouring for and we may just have our next Thierry Henry in position – albeit a very different style of player.

Last year, had all the crucial players stayed fit – Arsenal would surely have finished in the top three and would surely have been pushing for the Premier League title all the way to the line. As it was, we were absolutely besieged by injuries. What’s more – the FA Cup win and long run-in with it, along with the Champions League campaign – really took its toll on the league games when the injuries were coming in thick and fast.

Obviously – any squad can be hit more than average through injuries and the way Arsenal play arguably makes the players more likely to get injured in the first place. But even so – last season was a luckless one.

So if the squad can stay relatively healthy and if Alexis Sanchez really gels with the rest of the team ads he surely will after a couple of games – then anything is possible. And it may well be that Arsene Wenger hasn’t finished just yet. We’re unlikely to get another name as big as Sanchez, but a number of names keep cropping up in the transfer gossip columns.

All in all – the season ahead could well be one of the most exciting for many a long year for Gunners fans. And it may be worth making it even more exciting if you think we have a realistic chance of title success. That’s because Arsenal are currently a best-priced 13/2 to win the 2014-15 Premier League with bookmaker 32Red and other main bookies.

This looks like good value – albeit a little optimistic admittedly. But for die-hard fans, it keeps the season interesting and who knows – Sanchez may make that crucial difference. What’s more – there may be a way of getting a bet for free. Most of the major casino sites like 888, SkyVegas and lots more sites give generous introductory bonuses to their new clients. And 32Red has a casino as well as a sports betting site – with money transferable between the two wallets. Therefore, if you go to the 32Red mobile casino, for example, and take the bonuses and play the requisite number of games – you’d have to be pretty unlucky no to have enough to reinvest in the Gunners for a season-long punt.

It’s worth thinking about anyway – but if you want a safer bet, there are markets for top two and top three finishes, with lesser odds obviously.

Whether Sanchez will transform our fortunes or not remains to be seen – but you can’t say it doesn’t keep life interesting – and the season in prospect could be the most interesting ever in the Premier League – so roll on August 16^th and the evening kick-off against Crystal Palace. We need a great start to the season and the Sanchez-Gunners bandwagon to start rolling!