Sunday's match between Manchester City and Arsenal will have South American rhythm all over the pitch. With the two sides relying heavily on what Sergio Aguero and Alexis Sanchez can do, the game's outcome will probably be decided by how these two praised strikers perform.
Needless to say, Manchester City depends on Agüero to score goals for them. "El Kun" has undergone a tough race against Spanish striker Diego Costa to determine who will end up as the Premier League's top scorer. With 14 goals in 13 matches, Agüero has established himself as the biggest threat for their opponent's defence, and if he stays healthy, he will surely end up as one of the top three goal scorers this season. Aguero scores a goal every 76 minutes, and his tally could be even higher if he hadn't injured himself in November. Arsenal's defenders must ward Aguero closely, since the Argentinian usually takes four shots to score one goal, and if he can't strike the back of the net, his sense of awareness may end up with him dishing an assist, having three in the course of the season.
But if the Citizens depend on Agüero's antics on the pitch, Alexis Sanchez's impact for Arsenal has been even bigger. Collecting three Man of the Month awards according to the Gunners' fanbase, Sanchez has participated in 19 of Arsenal's 37 goals this season, scoring 12 and assisting his team-mates seven times. While the Chilean takes a shot on goal every 39 minutes, his conversion rate ranks at 28 percent, even higher than Aguero's 24%. Furthermore, Alexis' involvement in Arsenal's attack is even bigger than that of Aguero with the Sky Blues, since the former Barcelona wingman averages a whopping 45 passes per game, while El Kun is far from making that figure. If you put together every time Sanchez scores or dishes out an assist, he has created a goal scoring opportunity every 30 minutes, far superior than Aguero's total of 71 minutes per chance created.
Both strikers have made quite an impact for their team, but the fact remains that Arsenal keep struggling to enter Champions League spots. Will they get one step closer on Sunday thanks to Alexis? Or will Aguero keep Manchester City within two points of Premier League leaders Chelsea?
Alexis and Agüero head-to-head stats (Via whoscored.com):
