It is difficult to illustrate how obsessed Chile is with Alexis Sánchez, but the journey undertaken by one of the country’s journalists to compile a story on the striker perhaps says it best.
Maks Cardemas, a reporter for Mega TV, a Chilean TV channel, travelled 7,300 miles from Chile to Arsenal’s London Colney training ground for this morning’s press conference, to produce a special 30-minute report on the Arsenal striker.
Chile is fixated with Sánchez, Cardemas admits, a claim supported by his channel screening updates on the 26-year-old forward up to 80 times a day. “He’s our best Chilean player at the moment,” Cardemas told The Times. “Right now because Alexis is at the top, everybody is focusing on him.”
Sánchez’s move to Arsenal has created another obsession for Chileans as he has opened their eyes to the Barclays Premier League. “First because Chileans don’t see the Premier League too much, we know it’s the best league in the world but we don’t see too much because there’s not many Chileans in the history here.”
But that has all changed. Since arriving in London in July last year, the Chile forward, who has scored 19 goals in all competitions this season, has made an instant impact. It began with the winner against Besiktas in August to take the club into the Champions League group stage and four days later he scored his first Premier League goal away to Leicester City.
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It was a far cry from his time at Barcelona, marooned on the right wing and, initially, struggling to settle into the star-studded squad at the Nou Camp. He soon began contributing but never seemed confident in front of goal, passing early when in possession, but at Arsenal it has been a different story.
“I believe Arsenal is the team for Alexis because Wenger lets him play very freely on the pitch, it’s very similar to how he played in the national squad,” Cardemas said.
“He’s very happy here – he loves the fact he can do whatever he wants. Eighty per cent of Chileans are very happy for him to play here because he can show the stuff we love to see.”
Wenger also seems very content with the powerful winger. “We are very happy with him and I have bad news for you in that he will not come back to Chile very quickly,” the Frenchman quipped. “He is a credit for your country because he shows qualities that I hope you all have in your country.”
Wenger said Sánchez is committed and has a huge desire to win. “You know what you want when you are a manager, that a player develops and expresses his quality and meets his needs in the way you play football and the way he can achieve his targets,” he said. “So I believe he is extremely focused, he is happy to play and what I expect from him is to continue to develop as a player and become even stronger.”
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Sánchez, who began as a youth player with Cobreloa in northern Chile, has created 64 chances since arriving at Arsenal, pleasing for Wenger after his club trailed Manchester City and Liverpool by 30 goals last season, and offering a threat on the left wing.
“When he plays on the right, he is right footed and he is less in a position where he can score because he has better angles on the left side,” Wenger admitted. “We play very attacking football and he gets better opportunities to score.”
Sánchez has struggled with the language barrier in England but Wenger said he is trying very hard to learn - although the Spanish faction in the squad, that includes Mikel Arteta, Santi Cazorla, Nacho Monreal and Héctor Bellerín, has helped him to settle.
“We have a little Spanish clique that is becoming more important,” Wenger said. “The Spanish language is very important now in my squad so to communicate with the other players he has no problem.”
Chileans have often found the Premier League an unforgiving place - witness the short stays of Mark Gonzalez, Gonzalo Jara and Gary Medel - but in Sánchez there is evidence that one, at last, has broken the mould. Cardemas, Wenger and the whole of Chile seem to believe it was well worth the wait.