After he played well against a severely weakened Hull City in the FA Cup, I heard calls for Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez to be named player of the year. This is utter nonsense.

Put any decent player in this Arsenal side and they'll look good. He's been excellent of course, but only in patches. Look at the Hull game - there was a good half-hour period with the score still at 1-0 when most Arsenal players went missing - including Sanchez.

Has he made Arsenal better than last season? Not really, no. And where was he at Stoke City? And Southampton? He looks better than he actually is because he lines up next to a load of shirkers. He's been the best Arsenal player - by far. But not the best player in the Premier League.

Alexis Sanchez capped a fine performance with a late goal in Arsenal's 2-0 win against Hull City

The Chilean forward smiles after seeing his inventive chip sail over the crossbar in the first half

Although Sanchez (left) has played well, any decent player would look good in this Arsenal side

Who else stakes a claim? Eden Hazard is a joy to watch, David Silva the same. Maybe Sergio Aguero's injuries will cost him votes but his brilliance cannot be denied. The statistic freaks will be swooning over Cesc Fabregas's assists of course, so he's in with a shout, deservedly so.

These are the names most likely.

But if Manchester United maintain their league position, it would be criminal to ignore their spectacular return to the top four. Sure they've spent a load of money, but it's not a computer game. It actually needs to be put into place on the pitch and games need to be won.

Cesc Fabregas (right) has contributed an abundance of assists for Chelsea so far this season

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has played brilliantly but has also conceded a lot of goals

But the big-money signings at Manchester United have been injured for chunks of the season – Angel di Maria, Marcos Rojo, Daley Blind and Luke Shaw for example. Radamel Falcao's wages are sky high, but he's not been fully fit this season. So those who expect big money to automatically lead to success are ignoring the facts.

So if a Manchester United player should be given the award at the end of the season, which one is it? David de Gea springs to mind, and he's been brilliant of course, although we shouldn't forget he was in goal at Milton Keynes Dons and Leicester City earlier this season.

Michael Carrick brings an assured quality to the team not many players can deliver, but again injury has kept him out of action for the early part of the season so that would make it hard to give him the gong.

Wayne Rooney must be awarded player of the year if he leads Man United into the top four this season

Rooney holds off a challenge from Yeovil's Joe Edward's during the FA Cup third-round victory

It has to be Wayne Rooney.

So far this season he has been asked to take on the captaincy at Manchester United, take on the captaincy with England, adapt to a new and crucial position in the team, and still deliver goals. He's handled everything thrown at him.

On top of that he has had to play a true captain's role by helping blend youngsters into the Manchester United first team - the likes of Paddy McNair, Tyler Blackett and James Wilson will all have needed Rooney's arm around them at some point this season.

Rooney has captained both Man United and England brilliantly well so far this season

The Man United captain walks out on to the field at Huish Park on Sunday in the FA Cup

He's had to do what a good skipper does and make the new arrivals feel welcome and comfortable.

All of this with the pressure of leading the team back into the top four.

No other player has been asked to do all this at their club. And so far Rooney has been a success. England even have a 100 per cent record with him as captain.

Forget Sanchez and Fabregas. Rooney has delivered far more. In my view, he's the one on course for player of the year.