Sanchez special even when he looks dead – Wenger

Arsene Wenger was left marvelling at Alexis Sanchez’s ability to change a game on his own “even when he looks dead” following Arsenal’s 3-1 victory over Bournemouth.

The Chile star has been in fine form since being moved into a more central role in the Arsenal attack, scoring seven times in his last eight matches in all competitions, including a double against Bournemouth on Sunday.

Eddie Howe’s men produced a strong display at the Emirates, but Arsenal’s star quality ultimately shone through, with Sanchez netting his second in stoppage time to wrap up the win.

And Wenger continues to be astonished by the former Barcelona attacker’s appetite for the game.

“Even when he looks dead he is still alive and finds the resources when he wins the ball back to do something special,” he said.

“He has that conditioning that when the ball comes to him again he finds always that extra gear to be dangerous.”

Sanchez is reportedly attracting interest from Juventus and Manchester City as he prepares to enter the final 18 months of his contract, and Wenger knows Arsenal must try their best to keep hold of him.

“It is important [to keep him],” he added. “How important? I don’t know.

“We will not do that [sort a new contract] tonight and we have some time in front of us.”

One sour note from the match was an injury to right-back Mathieu Debuchy in his first Premier League outing since November 24 2015, and according to Wenger the defender fears it could be a serious problem.

“He thinks it’s a severe one,” Wenger added. “I have to speak to the medical people. You can only assess it really after 48 hours, you have to let it bleed.

“Usually they have an MRI 48 hours later when the bleeding is over to see how big the damage is.”