Arsene Wenger has hit out at speculation that suggests star man Alexis Sanchez is demotivated at Arsenal.

We all know the story behind Sanchez’s summer. The Chilean was tipped to leave the Emirates and join rivals Manchester City for around £60m, a move that he supposedly wanted. The proposed transfer fell through, and Sanchez has remained at Arsenal – where he has been bombarded with criticism about his attitude.

Critics have claimed the forward looks disinterested and demotivated at the club this season, but Wenger has been quick to play down speculation, saying he is committed to Arsenal and getting fully fit again.

Sanchez isn’t the type of player not to give his full effort on the field as you have seen when he plays for his country Chile. However, despite his best efforts Chile have not qualified for Russia but you can still bet on the world cup where Sanchez likely would have been one of the stars had he made it there.

When asked if Sanchez looked demotivated, Wenger replied: “No, not at all. I think that is going into very quick conclusions. Not at all.”

“Alexis has been out and injured and I thought he was still a little bit short on Sunday physically, and I played him last night [against Doncaster in the Carabao Cup] to give him more competition.”

Wenger was then asked if the Chilean was happy playing for Arsenal, to which the Frenchman replied: “That is the impression I have, yes.”

“Look, there’s no disguised attitude on my side. I’m just trying to get him back to full fitness.”

“The Europa League and League Cup is important. I’m just trying to give him competition to get him back to his best.”

“I gave him a long holiday, after that he had a real rest. He came back not fully fit and then he got injured. That, plus the rest time, was a long time.”

“But you can see he’s coming back strong. I left him on for 90 minutes and you can see he gave it a real go.”

[Quotes via Metro]