The Arsenal forward has been moved into a new central role this season.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Arsene Wenger has likened Alexis Sanchez to Barcelona star Luis Suarez.
The Chilean has found himself in a new role for Arsenal this season as Wegner has elected to play him as his central striker rather than a left winger.
It has so far proved to be a successful transition as Sanchez has managed to bag five goals in all competitions.
It is not the first time that Wenger has made such a change with one of his players, having previously converted Thierry Henry in a similar manner to great success.
The Frenchman, though, says it was Sanchez’s likeness to Barcelona star Suarez that made him make the change.
“First of all I had big competition up front,” he told Sky Sports. “I thought Welbeck could play there, Giroud was playing there with different qualities and I reflected for a long time at the end of the season.”
“I decided to try Sanchez [up front]. He has similarities with Luis Suarez. At the start, many people questioned that decision.”
The Arsenal manager has however admitted he had doubts about Sanchez’s ability to play in the central role at first.
The Chilean struggled to impress in the first two games of the season, which were a defeat to Liverpool and a draw with champions Leicester City.
It led to some questioning the decision and Wenger has admitted he even doubted himself before his forward convinced him otherwise.
“I must say the few times I tried him before, he was not convincing in this position,” he added.
“In the first two games I was not completely convinced but know, game after game, he’s growing into this position and getting better and better.”
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