Ian Wright feels Alexis Sanchez is a luxury player for Arsenal and may be more harmful than helpful in the big games.

Alexis started last Sunday’s game against Chelsea on the bench as Arsene Wenger opted for more industry and discipline on the flanks. Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi both had strong games and contributed to a defensively solid performance from Arsenal.

Ian Wright is now wondering if the Chilean is too much of a luxury in games against the big teams. “If [the Chelsea draw] was a glimpse of a future without Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, then maybe it is not such cause for gloom and doom,” he wrote in his column for The Sun.

“Everyone knows how highly I rate Sanchez and I’d like to see him play as much as possible before moving on. But you do wonder if he is a luxury you cannot afford in games like the ones against Liverpool and Chelsea.

“And I’m not just saying this because of their goalless draw at the Bridge — I’ve thought this way for a while. Sanchez will get you wonder goals, like he did against Cologne in the Europa League, but he does lose the ball a lot when he cuts inside.

“And that can spell real trouble. You can get away with it against most teams and, like I said, the good far outweighs the bad stuff with Sanchez. But the top teams will punish you, especially if the midfield men have pushed up to support him. He’s going to be out of the door soon — and we have to deal with that.”

In my opinion, it’s true that Alexis turns the ball over a lot. I feel his style of play includes a lot of risky dribbles and passes. It’s what makes him so dangerous yet so frustrating at the same time. However, it’s far too soon to conclude that he’s a luxury player when we play the big teams, I feel.

His goals against Chelsea and Manchester City in last season’s FA Cup were vital, and he has scored in trips to Manchester City and Tottenham in the past. I don’t believe any other player in the squad can offer the quality that he does in the final third. Hence, it’d be difficult to justify leaving him out of future trips to the top-six, in my opinion.

Arsenal were solid against Chelsea and the draw was a good result, but we want the Gunners to win these sorts of games eventually. Playing Alexis gives us the best chance of doing that, I feel.