Alexis Alejandro Sánchez is the kind of player managers dream of having the chance to work with. As with many aspiring footballers who had to endure some tougher conditions growing up than many of us can even imagine, when it comes to their football careers they say they are ready to die on the pitch to achieve their dreams. The Chilean came from very little and is now one of the biggest names in world football. He began to make himself noticed at the young age of 16 and quickly evolved into one of the most promising footballers in South America.

Guided by none other than his childhood idol coach Marcelo Bielsa, Sanchez managed to leave behind the £45/month fee he was getting playing for Cobreloa in Chile. Already seen as something very special, leaving for Europe to join Serie A mainstays Udinese in 2006 was a good move for the player. At about the same time he broke into Chile’s national team and made his first dream a reality. Then followed a loan spell in Chile with Colo Colo before he was again loaned by Udinese to Argentina’s River Plate. These moves helped to develop Sanchez into the reslient character he is today. He never stops working out or doing drills, he trains at a very high intensity and he never stops trying to improve. He is unstoppable.

This rare form of total and complete dedication has seen him recognized by fellow professionals and managers alike and of course got him noticed by all the higher echelon European Clubs. His play at Udinese and his complete dedication to the cause was repaid with a massive move to Barcelona for £25 million where unfortunately, he did not find the proper environment to fully express his talent. He is a born leader, he is the man who carries the whole team on his back during tough times and always wants the ball but no one would give him that kind of power in a group which had Xavi, Iniesta and most importantly, Messi who were Barcelona’s inner core. Sanchez still had an impressive return while with Barca where he was used more in wide positions and was more of a link to Messi et al. Alexis still managed to score 39 goals in 88 games which is rather a good goal to game ratio especially when you consider that he was not the 1st or 2nd option for Barca players when in attack really.

Fortunately, through a very unexpected series of events, Sanchez made it to the Emirates in the summer of 2014. It was one of those moves no one expected even if rumors were flooding the internet. Sure, Ozil’s arrival in the previous year could have hinted towards the fact that a serious player like Sanchez was on Wenger’s radar but still, who would have thought? Since joining the Gunners, the Chilean has been an example not only for Arsenal’s players but for players around the world.

Despite being one of the highest paid players in the PL, Sanchez plays every game like his livelihood depends on it. He is 100% committed to football and to Wenger. He is constantly running, he is never happy when taken of the pitch earlier than the final whistle, he is angry when he does not score and he is fearless. The latest example of the kind of work ethic Sanchez embraces comes from Arsenal’s latest training session. While all others awaited instructions, Metro say Sanchez was doing push-ups. It is not the first time this happens as Iwobi also pointed out that his teammate is constantly pushing himself even if he is exhausted after a long game. He focuses on what he thought was not good enough that day and works on it even though all others are long gone.

There are few players of his talent who work as hard. He is driven no matter the moment of the game or practice, he has true quality in both feet. If for some reason, he fails to beat an opponent or loses the ball to them, he invariably finds a way to press and either win the ball back himself or press so that another team-mate has a chance to win the ball back. One of Alexis’ finest attributes is his superb attitude and humility – he never gives up on anything and is relentless when trying to achieve a goal both on and off the field as well as in general life. As a person and as a professional he is such a great role model to kids and is an inspiration to up-and-coming players. Wenger said at some point that Sanchez can be on the same level with Messi or Ronaldo and he was not exaggerating.

The Chilean is 27 and pushes himself like he was 16. When he is home he spends alot of time with his family, gives to the community spending time in the slums, staying humble and remembering his roots like when he helped his home town of Tocopilla. The town where he grew up has a population of less than 25,000 and gained some notoriety as it was revealed as being the place of Sanchez’ birth but unfortunately it hit the global headlines for the wrong reasons when it was the Chilean town that suffered the most severe damage from an earthquake that reached 7.7 on the Richter Scale. Over 15,000 people were evacuated to safety as the quake destroyed 30 per cent of all standing structures.

Following the devastation Sanchez enlisted the help of Lionel Messi and the other Barca stars in an effort to raise much needed money for aid and spread word about the scale of the natural disaster affecting his home. As a result of this campaign, every year at Christmas, sitting in an open top bus – Alexis rides through the streets of Tocopilla with the mayor Fernando San Román to give away presents to the kids which are mainly comprised of signed footballs. Last Christmas Tocopilla voted to change the road named ‘Cuarta Poniente’ so that it now bears the name ‘Alexis Sánchez’.

You cannot put a price on the things he can do both on and off the pitch. While he does score goals, provide assists and helps motivate the team during the game he also provides something else: his drive and work ethic are infectious. These things rub off on team-mates especially onto youngsters who have no excuses for working less than Sanchez. It`s the same with more experienced players who feel motivated by the amount of work the Chilean puts in.

It`s hard to remember many players who had this kind of impact on Arsenal since the Wenger era started. Thinking of the “magic” and highly influential players of the title winning Wenger era, they can come in many forms like – Thierry Henry, Tony Adams, Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires, Partick Vieira and David Seaman to name but a few. Even when you look at the undeniably talented list of players there – it is hard for you to imagine any are better than Alexis Sanchez by the time he retires should he manage to stay healthy. Sure it is hard to look past Thierry Henry but Alexis has “scare-the-shit” out of you acceleration and speed, is good in the air and good with both feet, has brilliant tactical awareness, has an unselfish team ethic and a deadly eye for goal as well as assisting on goals plus he is always willing to chase back to make a key interception or disrupt an opposing attack. If Alexis becomes part of an Arsenal title winning side and adds more Arsenal trophies to his CV then Alexis Alejandro Sánchez may very well prove when all things are said and done that he was the best transfer signing Wenger ever made. Only time will tell and there will be many twists along the way as Arsene Wenger may leave Alexis and then the Chilean may want to leave too. What we do know is Alexis’ contract is due to end in June 2018 so it might be another piece of brilliant business if this summer or even sooner the incredible Chilean, Alexis Sanchez is signed to another 4 year deal. This contract would take him through to the age of 31 years old and still very much in his peak. Arsenal should simply do what it takes (pay him the going rate for players in the top 5% of the game.