Alexis: Santi makes me happy

Alexis Sanchez has played with some pretty ace footballers in his career. He regularly lines up with Juventus’ Arturo Vidal at international level, at Udinese his strike partner was Antonio di Natale, while at Barcelona he shared the Camp Nou turf with Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta.

In short, Alexis knows talent when he sees it. And he sees it at the Emirates. Particularly in the enchanting little legs of midfield wizard Santi Cazorla.

Speaking to Arsenal Player about the quality he sees in training every day, the Chilean attacker pinpointed his diminutive Spanish colleague as particularly special.

“Santi Cazorla is a spectacular player. You never know whether he will kick the ball with his right or left foot. Also, he moves with short but quick strides, which is a remarkable trademark too.

“Although I knew about his quality, playing alongside him makes me very happy.”

He added: “When I arrived at the club I didn’t know the players that well, but I was really surprised by everyone’s quality.

“I am not saying this just because it’s my obligation to do it as a club player. Every Arsenal footballer has amazing quality. Being part of a team like this makes me very proud. I am willing to win many titles here.”

22 goals in 45 appearances, including the all-important double that helped the Gunners to a second successive FA Cup final, suggests Alexis is very willing indeed.

Elsewhere, Arsene Wenger has given an interesting insight into the way he handles his players on a day-to-day basis at London Colney.

Claiming he likes to see his squad train with the same intensity they’d approach a competitive fixture, the boss explained in the latest Arsenal Magazine:

“The general plan is to play in training like you do in the game, or even harder. Some days you have to ease off completely and not have the intensity because you need to recover after games. But basically you need to give the players the same intensity that they will face in a game.

“Even the day before a game you can think to yourself, ‘That intensity is absolutely amazing, the players are ready to go out tomorrow and perform at that level’.

“The team always gives you a vibe in training, like a weather forecast. Sometimes you think, ‘Yes, that’s right, they are there’.

“Or other times you think, ‘Nope, they have switched off, they’ll have to work on their concentration otherwise they will have a disillusion on Saturday’.

“It’s never set though, you always have to adjust it a little bit because every day you face a different problem. Sometimes its physical, sometimes it’s the concentration levels, sometimes it’s the harmony within the side.

“Sometimes it could be one or two players who are disillusioned. These can all pull the energy levels down so you always have to correct and adjust things to get it right for the next game.”