The Premier League season is upon us once again and Arsenal star man Alexis Sanchez, winner of Copa America 2015 with his national side Chile, has been enjoying time off on his well deserved extended break from football.
Despite his surprising high fitness levels as the season is set to begin, it is unlikely Alexis will feature for Arsenal as they play their Premier League opener on Sunday against London rivals West Ham, at the Emirates Stadium.
After Alexis’ post international tournament break, he returned to training this week with the Gunners, after what seemed to be his dream debut season in north London, starting with a 3-0 win against Manchester City in the 2014 Community Shield, going on to score 25 goals that season, helping the team retain the FA Cup at Wembley in May, and collecting the clubs Player of the Year Award.
Wenger explained to Arsenal Player that he would slowly involve Sanchez into the new campaign when he’s ready.
“He came back in surprisingly good shape, I will see [when he’s ready to play].
“It is about my decision. Will he not be involved at all on Sunday? I don’t know yet. It depends a little bit on what I see [in training on Saturday] and who will be available.
“Alexis understands perfectly well. He is one of the players who played the World Cup [in 2014], came back here and played the whole season without a break, goes to the Copa America and basically cannot start the season.
“At some stage you need to give these players a rest or they get serious injuries.”
It looks as though the Chilean will miss out on Sunday, despite looking fresh and sharp for the new season, which means his likely return to Premier League action will be the following Sunday when Arsenal make a short trip across London where they face Crystal Palace in their second London derby at 1.30pm.
