Believe it or not Carlos Sanchez is West Ham’s man in midfield
By Adam Smith
A lot of disgruntled West Ham supporters took to social media to denounce the impending signing of 32-year-old midfielder Carlos Sanchez as the transfer window came to a close. Three games into the season this tune has changed significantly as Sanchez has put in a tremendous performance against Arsenal.
West Ham’s biggest issues this season have come from midfield organization and the hollow feeling their players have created in the middle of the pitch. Liverpool easily made their way through a midfield three of Wilshere, Noble, and Rice, while Bournemouth was able to push passed Noble and Wilshere in a two-man midfield battery.
The problem has revolved around players not knowing their role or how to play it with discipline, but Pellegrini seems to have found a pair who can address this. For Arsenal, the formation was 4-2-3-1, the same as the Liverpool match, but featured the Colombian international Carlos Sanchez alongside Wilshere in holding midfield and a lot changed.
Pellegrini had previously discussed his views on Wilshere, stating he saw him as a Pirlo style player, one that occupies a holding midfield position but turns upfield and outlets the ball offensively in a free-roaming style of play as well. It is clear that Pellegrini believes the present and future of West Ham’s midfield is going to be run through Wilshere, but that role will need a disciplined and physical partner to support him.
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Enter La Roca (The Rock), Carlos Sanchez. Originally a depth signing for the midfield, Sanchez drew his first start as a Hammer against a formidable Arsenal team deep in attacking threat. Despite the eventual scoreline of 3-1 for Arsenal, Sanchez was one of West Ham’s stars in the match and has provided much optimism for the impending matchdays in this early Premier League season.
It may be a little over excited and premature but the patience, physicality, and as mentioned before, the discipline that Sanchez showed against the Gunners was integral to West Ham being difficult to break down in the midfield.
His stats show a solid performance from a holding midfield player: 49 touches, 39 passes, 3 tackles (100% success), 1 block, 2 fouls, and even one shot. Sanchez’s season, which consists of this match and a short sub appearance against Bournemouth have seen him recover the ball 6 times, win 5 duels, and win his only aerial duel. In its simplest form, Sanchez is just tough to play against and sticks to opponents in the midfield.
Concerns moving forward with Sanchez are his age and the physical limitations that come with this. At 32 he is no spring chicken, and after about an hour on the pitch, he began slowing down. The Arnautovic injury most likely forced Pellegrini to adjust his plans for substitutions, having to replace his attackers out of necessity over Sanchez.
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Despite his legs having some limitations, Sanchez did well in this match considering he constantly faced off against Aubumayang, Guendouzi, and Ramsey who pressured up the middle of the field. Sanchez has proven that as his name suggests he can be that rock in midfield and has provided a silver lining in the most recent West Ham loss. I doubt we’ll see him against AFC Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup, but look for Sanchez to feature against Wolves in this upcoming match week.