After winning the Copa America with his native Chile and scoring the winning penalty, Alexis Sanchez has been labelled as “audacious” by his club manager Arsene Wenger. 26-year-old Sanchez stepped up to take the spot kick and despite being under pressure, calmly chipped the ball to his left, sending the Argentina shot stopper in the wrong direction.
Having missed a penalty for Arsenal last season, such attitude from Alexis displays an unbelievably cool and level head, as well as an abundance of confidence.
Speaking to Arsenal Player, the Frenchman claimed that Sanchez is scared of nothing.
“They had quite a comfortable lead when he took the penalty but I was a bit worried because he missed one with us,” Wenger said.
“He has shown again that he is scared of nothing. He took the ball and chipped the keeper. It was quite audacious but I was of course over the moon to see him bring the trophy to a country that has waited for such a long time.
“It is an historic achievement and when you’re a football player, you want to do that, so I’m very happy for him.
“I texted him [after the final] and he texted me back,” revealed Wenger. “He was already focused on next season with Arsenal and wants to win everything with us. He was thrilled and very happy.”
Sanchez’s penalty was a defining moment in the history of Chile as a football nation, with the 2015 Copa being the South American side’s first ever major international trophy.
The former Barcelona man has not been included in the squad for the pre-season trip to Singapore, with Wenger giving Alexis extra rest after a jam packed season.
Comments.
Loading comments…