Sanchez rejected other suitors to make Arsenal switch, claims Wenger

Arsene Wenger claims Alexis Sanchez turned down a number of clubs to join Arsenal last summer.

The Chile international joined the Gunners from Barcelona after the World Cup, having spent time with Udinese and Cobreloa earlier in his career and had loan spells with Colo-Colo and River Plate.

But the 26-year-old is now settled in north London, so much so he has scored 12 goals in 22 Premier League appearances so far in his debut season.

"Alexis has played in Italy, in Spain and he moved clubs - that of course helps," Wenger told Arsenal Magazine.

"The second part is that the move is a reward for what he really wanted. Alexis had a few options and he chose us because he felt that's where he wanted to go. Sometimes a player moves somewhere and it's not the choice that he deeply wanted. In his case, I think he really wanted to join us.

"On the pitch, the player has his needs. I felt that he came into a team that plays in an [attacking] way, where he can express his talent with freedom. It works out well for him. That helps.

"After, another step is that a team welcomes you with the values that you rate, and that in some parts of the team, you can feel at home when you need it sometimes.

"That means there are people inside the squad with a similar culture. For example we have plenty of Spanish-speaking people and I believe that helps to integrate people well."