With our first match against Barcelona in the Champions League just days away, it’s inevitable that Alexis Sanchez will be asked about his old team.

When Alexis signed for Barca in 2011, he described the move as a dream. However, this doesn’t mean that when he transferred to Arsenal just three years later that he regrets his decision to leave.

“It wasn’t easy to leave Barcelona,” he said.

“I fulfilled a dream when I moved there – to play in Spain and for the champions – but very few players stay in the same club all their life. To leave is normal.

“I wanted a new project, a new experience. And with so many attacking players at Barca it was a good choice to go… it has been a positive move and I love it at Arsenal.”

Behind some of the best players in Europe, the Chilean found it difficult to get into the first team regularly. However, his talent still shined through whenever he did get a chance and when he signed for us for a reported £35m, Gooners were over the moon.

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LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 20: Alexis Sanchez of Arsenal and Ahmed Elmohamady of Hull City compete for the ball during the Emirates FA Cup fifth round match between Arsenal and Hull City at the Emirates Stadium on February 20, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

It’s clear that the forward is enjoying his time at Arsenal after very quickly becoming one of the first names on the team sheet and I appreciate his honesty. Too often players spout off various cliches about their former club compared to their new one but Alexis isn’t trying to pretend he didn’t love Barca. That doesn’t mean he’s unhappy with us.