Sanchez has struggled to rediscover his stunning form of last season so far this term (Picture: Getty)

Arsene Wenger has rubbished suggestions that Alexis Sanchez is demotivated to play for Arsenal and insists the Chilean is simply trying to get back to full match sharpness.

The 28-year-old was the subject of a summer-long transfer saga as Manchester City tried to lure him to the Etihad, but the move finally collapsed on deadline day.

Sanchez has started just once in the Premier League since then, with some critics claiming he looks disinterested and demotivated, but Wenger is adamant he is committed to Arsenal.

Sanchez struggled to make an impact in Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Arsenal on Wednesday (Getty)

Asked if he looked dejected on the pitch, Wenger replied: ‘No, not at all. I think that is going into very quick conclusions. Not at all.

‘Alexis has been out and injured and I thought he was still a little bit short on Sunday physically, and I played him last night [against Doncaster in the Carabao Cup] to give him more competition.’

Wenger insists Sanchez is still working towards full match fitness and sharpness (Picture: Getty)

Asked again if Sanchez was happy playing for Arsenal, he insisted: ‘That is the impression I have, yes.

‘Look, there’s no disguised attitude on my side. I’m just trying to get him back to full fitness.

Sanchez is reportedly now attracting attention from Man United and Real Madrid (Picture: Getty)

‘The Europa League and League Cup is important. I’m just trying to give him competition to get him back to his best.

‘I gave him a long holiday, after that he had a real rest. He came back not fully fit and then he got injured. That, plus the rest time, was a long time.

‘But you can see he’s coming back strong. I left him on for 90 minutes and you can see he gave it a real go.’

While Arsenal will be without Danny Welbeck until after the international break, Wenger had better news about Mesut Ozil, who is back in training and will link up with the rest of the first team ‘today or tomorrow’.

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