Three reasons why it went pear-shaped for Alexis Sanchez at Manchester United

Alexis Sanchez shocked the world when he moved to Manchester United. Nobody was surprised to see him move on from Arsenal, as it was clear he would run down his contract at the time, but nobody expected him to turn down Pep Guardiola's Manchester City to work under Jose Mourinho.

However, it would appear that both Arsenal and Manchester City fans can take immense pleasure in the situation, because things have far from worked out. He's scored just three league goals with the Red Devils since he arrived from North London, which is nowhere near the expectation he set under Arsene Wenger.

But where has it all gone wrong?

#1 He's in a losing environment

I think it's fair to say that the difference in mentality between Arsenal and Manchester United is growing by the day. Where Unai Emery's side looks to rebuild themselves as a force in the Premier League, Jose Mourinho's side looks to scrape as many points as possible to cover up their frailties.

It's this difference in mindset which can really play a part in the player's form. We've seen many stars fall at United in recent seasons, Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial being two other examples.

You can even go as far to say that Alexis is partly at fault for this losing mentality. A number of his Arsenal colleagues fell out of love with him and their performances on the pitch dropped as a result of this. Now, it doesn't look like this is the case at United, with the players rebelling against the management, but it's definitely something to consider.

Alexis has a mentality where nothing is ever good enough. You will often see him on the pitch or on the subs bench with a scrunched up face, his arms in the air, and the rest. It's this type of negative body language which catches the media's eye for a reason, because discomfort is contagious, especially at a club the size of United.

Perhaps you should have considered that move to the Etihad Stadium, Alexis...

#2 He isn't as adored as he once was

He was certainly Arsenal's biggest star, which is why there was such an onus on him to come up with the goods. It would appear that this onus helped him because he was the one to supply what his fans wanted more often than not.

At Manchester United, there are the clear fan favourites. The main one of those being David de Gea, at the other end of the pitch to Alexis Sanchez.

While I am by no means saying that the United faithful need to chant his name every week, showing him some more love is definitely a technique to consider. The power of the twelfth man could really play its part here.

He's a man who likes to make up for the love he's given. There's a reason why the Arsenal supporters made a banner of his dogs...

#3 He's lost his desire

It's all well and good blaming Sanchez on his surroundings, but what if his surroundings have had an effect on him? Remember, he's not the first player to come to United and lose their desire...

Playing at a club the size of United carries immense expectation, with only a few players being able to live up to that. Perhaps the Chilean went into this move with a false view of himself, given all he achieved at Arsenal.

When you've lost your fire, Jose Mourinho isn't exactly the best person to deal with that. All of these reasons combined makes it clear to see why many are looking at his situation, wondering whether or not United will decide him to sell him in January.

What do you think United should do? Is Alexis just another fallen star, or is there still a gem inside him waiting to be unearthed?

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