Arsene Wenger has dismissed the claim that Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez is fat.
A former Chile youth coach said earlier in the month that Sanchez, 28, was ‘out of physical shape’.
Sanchez has only featured in two Premier League games for the Gunners this season after struggling with injury and being linked with a move away from the Emirates.
But Wenger insists Sanchez is ‘focused’ on his job at Arsenal and waved away the suggestion that the Chile international is overweight.
‘Yes, I spoke to him. He is focused, he told us he is focused on the Premier League and Europa League,’ Wenger said.
‘On top of that he had a bad result with Chile against Bolivia, but he came back full of desire and ready to play.
‘He was not completely physically ready to play three games in a week – and for Chile he was not completely ready.
‘He is not fat. His fat percentage is under 10. You know how it is, when you do not win, people will find problems.’
Sanchez was believed to be pushing for a move away from Arsenal during the summer transfer window and Manchester City hoped to secure his services.
But a move failed to materialise and goalkeeper Petr Cech says Sanchez is now hungry to enjoy a successful season in north London.
‘I spoke with Alexis and he wants to win,’ Cech said. ‘Some people say, “he does this, he does that”.
‘But I think he’s a guy who plays with all of his passion and all of his heart. You could see that in his performance.
‘He knew he came late back, the manager opted not to risk him, put him on the bench so he was ready to come on. He came on and you could see he put a shift in.’
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