Ex Premier League Duo Must Prove Themselves At Inter Milan As France FIFA World Cup Star Out Injured

Inter Milan strikers Alexis Sanchez and Marko Arnautovic will have to prove themselves whilst Marcus Thuram is out injured.

This is highlighted in today’s print edition of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport, via FCInterNews.

So far this season, the pecking order in attack at Inter has been exceedingly clear.

Captain Lautaro Martinez and France international Thuram have been the two first-choice strikers.

And then Sanchez and Arnautovic have been behind them as backups.

So far that has not posed that much of a problem. The two first-choice forwards have been reliable in terms of the quality of their performances, their goals, and crucially, their fitness.

But there have been some doubts about whether the backups can step into Martinez and Thuram’s place.

There have been standout moments from both of the former Premier League veterans.

Arnautovic, for example, scored Inter’s winner in a Champions League win over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

But these flashes have not been enough to silence the doubts. Therefore, Inter will be signing Mehdi Taremi from Porto in the summer, to bolster the strength in depth of the squad.

Alexis Sanchez & Marko Arnautovic Put To The Test Amid Thuram Injury

But Taremi hasn’t arrived yet.

For the remaining three months of the season – the decisive run-in of the campaign, in other words – Inter will have to rely on Sanchez and Arnautovic.

The Austrian proved his worth against Atletico.

There were a couple big missed chances from the former West Ham United and Bologna striker. But there was also the key goal, and some excellent holdup play.

Meanwhile, Sanchez is set to start against Lecce this evening.

The Chilean, like Arnautovic, should be called into action plenty in the next two or three matches at least.

That is because Thuram is currently out with a thigh injury.

The injury to the Frenchman is not as bad as initially feared. Reports suggest that he should be back in the next couple of weeks, and in time for the second leg against Atletico.

But it still means three or four matches that Thuram will not be able to start.

And Thuram’s injury underlines the risk that comes with playing the starting player too often if their backups are not trusted. And the fact that injury can befall key players at any point.

So over the next few months, Sanchez and Arnautovic will have a big task proving that they are up to carrying their share of the load in attack.