After a summer of fighting to keep Alexis Sanchez out of Manchester City's jaws, Arsenal now face the bleak reality of losing their Chilean star.

Rumours suggest a deal could even be completed as early as January, with Pep Guardiola identifying Sanchez as the man to help fulfil his silverware ambitions this season.

If he were to hit the ground running in the sky blue shirt, the Citizens would have an even better chance of completing the quadruple.

From the perspective of Arsenal and Arsene Wenger, finding a replacement as soon as he goes will be of utmost importance.

If they were to leave his place in the squad empty for the second half of the campaign, their chance of winning either the Carabao Cup or the Europa League would be severely dented.

Alex Iwobi and Danny Welbeck ate not fit to lace his boots, but there is one very highly-rated player being linked with a move to the Gunners; Boca Juniors' Cristian Pavon.

PAVON TO BE SANCHEZ'S HEIR?

The Independent previously reported that Arsenal had joined Man City and Juventus in the race for the Argentine international, with the paper stating that the Gunners were the frontrunners for his signature.

Now, there are unofficial reports coming out of Argentina that Wenger is willing to meet his €37m release clause as soon as possible, suggesting that the Sanchez deal isn't far away.

But, who is he? Well, he has two caps for the Argentine national side and is one of the finest prospects in South American football.

And, judging from the video below, Pavon shares a lot of similarities with a certain player: Sanchez himself.

VIDEO: PAVON LOOKS A REAL TALENT

Short but sweet, but you can see that Pavon would bring some much needed guile from out wide.

He operates in a slightly different way to Sanchez by often staying out wide and not drifting inside, something that might help bring the best out of £50m summer signing Alexandre Lacazette.

Potentially exciting times ahead for Arsenal, if they can keep Mesut Ozil that is.