Why Alexis Sanchez spent a fortnight kicking his heels, not fit enough to take part in the statement victory at Tottenham Hotspur, said a great deal about his attitude under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
After nine games out with a hamstring injury, the Manchester United manager had welcomed back the club’s most expensive asset at Newcastle United on January 2.
Sanchez helped turn the game in their favour that night, on as a 63rd-minute substitute, and was then handed a start against Reading three days later. The trouble is, Sanchez is always so desperate to play that he failed to inform Solskjaer of a slight thigh and hamstring complaint at half-time.
The Chilean eventually had to be withdrawn prematurely with 26 minutes remaining, two appearances into his comeback, and so is now in the midst of another one.
Solskjaer will need to manage this carefully, with just three fixtures before the Champions League date with Paris Saint-Germain, although he felt sure enough to give him a start at Arsenal.
The pair left the Emirates Stadium buoyed by an exquisite opening goal, only Sanchez’s second for United since April, and an arching run preceding the finish that suggests his hunger is back.
There is some debate as to whether it ever actually left. The sulking, the loneliness at Carrington, were said to have been down in part to a dent in professional pride, and disaffection with how the move from Arsenal had gone in a 12 months whereby Sanchez earned more than £18million but offered little else. His split with girlfriend Mayte Rodriguez in September also had a profound impact.
Jose Mourinho could not fathom his attacking malaise but was encouraged by Sanchez’s defensive diligence. Perhaps that tells something of a story and it was striking that, in November – before the problematic hamstring issue – the forward’s representatives were sounding out potential suitors.
Wages would certainly have been an obstacle to any move away; both club and player would probably have been stuck with each other. Regardless, an uplift in performances looked extremely unlikely.
Yet with Solskjaer – and this is his main victory during a whirlwind six weeks in charge – the narrative surrounding United’s protagonists has changed. The questions now are how best they can affect United rather than the other way around. Solskjaer has thrown ownership and responsibility on to them and is receiving responses.
That is particularly true of Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford, the two chief beneficiaries of the new regime. Yet even Jesse Lingard, someone dependable under the last two managers, looks more liberated.
Romelu Lukaku’s work on the right on Friday night suggests he could elevate his game. So why not Sanchez, who choreographed his run for the FA Cup opener with Lukaku in training beforehand?
One-to-one discussions have held the key for Solskjaer so far and unlocking the Chilean might go down as important as Pogba’s rebirth.