Arsene Wenger has heaped praise on Arsenal wantaway Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean produced a fine performance for the Gunners in a 3-1 victory over FC Koln on Thursday, a win which will give the club a lot of confidence ahead of their Super Sunday showdown with Chelsea.

Wenger hailed the forward as “exceptional” during the game, and hopes he can kick on and continue to produce the form we all know he is capable of after a turbulent summer.

The boss said that moving from three at the back to four helped the Chilean to play, and said he came alive in the second half.

“Sanchez came alive in the second half,” said Wenger. “He is still fighting to come back to his best physically, but Sanchez is Sanchez. He’s an exceptional footballer.”

“I moved to a four in the second half, [Sead] Kolasinac I think gave us a lot going forward, but as well he pushed Sanchez forward, who played deep in the first half.”

“When he had more support on the flanks from Kolasniac he became more dangerous.”

Wenger did admit that his side got off to a slow start in the game, but insists that the second half showing was “one-way traffic”.

“I believe we had a little bit of a slow start, our combinations were too slow, and on top of that, we were shocked by the stunner that they scored.”

“From then on it was important we did not panic and to keep control of the game.”

“In the second half I believe our team was better balanced better equipped going forward.”

“I changed it at half-time, and second half was one-way traffic. It was just a question of time, overall I think we won it in a convincing way.”
[Quotes sourced via Sky Sports]