One of the real unanswered questions this season is why Arsenal, having looked so potent in the first half of the season with Alexis Sanchez up front, have moved away from that almost completely.

Whether results are a consequence of that is open for debate, but it’s not something Arsene Wenger has really explained.

The manager was asked about his role as a wide man at his press conference today, and admitted it takes something away from him as a goalscorer, but that it brings out more from him as a creator.

“I felt that he had a very good spell when he played up front,” he said. “When he plays on the flank, he’s more a provider than a goalscorer.

“At the moment he plays in a mixed role between the flank and the middle. He can always turn up with something special in the game.

“He has been remarkably efficient.”

Sanchez bagged an FA Cup semi-final winner for the second time in three seasons, scoring Arsenal’s second in the 2-1 over Man City, and Wenger believes he’s a play who really digs in when the occasion demands it.

“The difficulty of the game always makes him more focused,” he said.

“He starts sometimes and has problems to get into the game and during the game he becomes stronger and stronger and more determined. He has the individual quality to make the difference.

“I think he adapts to the difficulty. He tests and he finds the way himself during the game to become dangerous.”