3 ways Manchester City could line up with Alexis Sanchez
Since he started throwing on-field tantrums amid questions around the future of manager Arsene Wenger, rumours of Alexis Sanchez leaving Arsenal haven't subsided.
The latest account in the protracted saga is that Manchester City is content cunningly waiting in the wings, waiting for the Chilean marksman to engineer his own breakup in north London before being reunited with old Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola.
Related - Report: City increasingly confident Sanchez will force move from Arsenal
It sounds like a perfect fit - but in practice would it work? Here are three ways Sanchez could slot into City's stacked attacking contingent:
Jesus' disciple
The 28-year-old could revive an old role from his Italian stay by following behind Gabriel Jesus as a battle-hardened No. 10. It would hark back to where Thomas Muller was posted at Bayern Munich under Guardiola, albeit with more frantic results.
"We took a gamble on Sanchez," his old Udinese gaffer, Francesco Guidolin, told La Stampa, according to James Horncastle for ESPN FC. "He had always played wide, but when I arrived I put forward the idea of playing him behind the striker. From a central position he can be even more decisive. Playing as a No. 10, he is more unpredictable and harder for opponents to keep tabs on."
Sanchez could be devastating in tandem with Jesus - a remarkably tactical-minded forward when considering his tender years - and, with the complement of attackers swarming inside from the flanks or probing from the deep-lying midfield roles, could help forge the most ferocious frontline in the league.
Shunning the swap rumours
The audacious whispers of Manchester City swapping Sergio Aguero for Sanchez spread by the Daily Star's David Woods surprisingly gathered momentum - these kind of deals never materialise - and Guardiola could make a mockery of this tattle by deploying both.
The Spaniard wasn't averse to playing two up top as evidenced by Jesus and Aguero working alongside each other in the latter stages of the season. It wouldn't be a strict pair - Guardiola has wrung more running and versatility from Aguero since he rolled into England as he avoids using a traditional No. 9 - but it could spearhead a range of formations.
The flirtations with a back-three can continue in a 3-5-2 setup, or Guardiola can go with a more traditional yet breathless 4-4-2 that would be familiar to new boy Bernardo Silva and his former Monaco teammate and potential fellow summer signing, Benjamin Mendy.
Defensive cover may have to come from a less flamboyant duo of David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne, though.
Barcelona mk II
Left-back Mendy's attacking prowess could be bettered on the right-hand side by the vastly experienced but conversely youthful movement of Dani Alves. This pair - or, another linked player, Kyle Walker - are going to blast up the pitch.
So for a tiki-taka-reviving 4-3-3, defensive stoutness would have to come in the shape of Fernandinho, and the added snappiness in the tackle from De Bruyne and David Silva will have to be more prominent.
Then the triumvirate can flourish. Sanchez can drop to be the link and orchestrator - a Lionel Messi Lite, if you like - while any of Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane, Bernardo Silva, Jesus, and an advanced De Bruyne weave runs and punctures weaknesses in the opposition defence either side of him.