For years, Arsenal was criticized for being overly conservative in its spending and for resulting lack of star power on the side.

Manager Arsene Wenger has never been one to go on a binge shopping spree the way other major clubs do. While the losing has not piled up over the years, the lack of trophies has certainly bothered some fans.

But Wenger has shown a bit more aggressiveness over the last few seasons. A year ago, he brought Mesut Ozil over from Real Madrid for some hefty money, and this year, he is slated to do the same with the big money purchases of Alexis Sanchez and Sami Khedira. The former has already been officially introduced by the team, while the latter is all but completed. Sanchez is arguably the more valuable of the two signings as he gives the team something it has lacked over the years -- a versatile forward.

The Chilean is a fine player that had been plying his trade for Barcelona alongside Lionel Messi. However, Sanchez, who is arguably Chile's top player -- and definitely its best attacker -- has never really had a chance to shine for his club. And the result was time on the bench, pent up frustration and no chance to truly showcase his talents.

But at Arsenal, Sanchez will be a ready starter for the club. None of the team's current forwards on the same level as Sanchez. He is not a target man like Olivier Giroud, and yet he is a finer goal scorer. Just to put it in perspective, Giroud was Arsenal's best goal scorer last season with 16 strikes in 36 appearances; the 27-year-old's best goal-scoring record came in 2011-12, when he scored 21 times for Montpelier in the French league. Sanchez finished last season with 19 goals in 34 games for Barcelona; Sanchez is 25 and entering his peak years.

Sanchez is also the kind of speedy player that can play in the middle and give the team wing play, as well. There are certainly other players that can give the team speed on the flanks -- Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott, for example -- but the Chilean is far more dangerous with the ball on his foot.

Another major asset from Sanchez is his ability to score from free kicks. While Lionel Messi was injured last season, Sanchez became the go-to guy to take set pieces for his team and scored a number of fantastic goals. During the World Cup game against Spain, he put a shot on goal from a free kick; goalie Iker Casillas batted the shot back into the slot where it went into the back of the net and essentially ended Spain's World Cup.

But the one attribute that Sanchez brings that few others on Arsenal have is his terrific possession of the ball. Anyone that watched the round of 16 match between Brazil and Chile must have noticed that taking the ball away from Sanchez was a nearly impossible task for the host nation's defense. Sanchez is relentless with the ball, and his speed and skill allow him to find the small spaces to keep possession and dish out solid passes.

The arrival of Sanchez is not only essential because of what he brings, but how he affects others around him. He can play a number of attacking positions, whether it be at the front (as deployed by Chile manager Jorge Sampaoli) or out wide as he was used with Barcelona. This is great for a player like Ozil, who sorely needed someone with speed to latch onto his glorious throughballs. At Real Madrid, he had Cristiano Ronaldo to dish off to; Arsenal's best options were the often-injured Walcott and Aaron Ramsey. Sanchez is far speedier than the aforementioned players and will give Ozil that opportunity. But having someone like Sanchez around automatically makes him a major target for team defenses. The fact that he can float around the frontline with ease, means that some defenders will likely be drawn out of position easily, facilitating players like Giroud, Ramsey and Ozil in their search for space.

There are, of course, some concerns. The Spanish League is a lot less physical than the Premier League, and it will be interesting to see how Sanchez, who measures about 5'7'', matches up against infinitely bigger competition. Will he be able to deal with the physical demands? It will be interesting to see what kind of impact the Chilean superstar has on the Gunners.

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