Arsene Wenger praised Alexis Sanchez following his hattrick against West Ham on Saturday.

The forward was simply superb during Arsenal’s emphatic 5-1 victory, which sends them within touching distance of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table.

Speaking after the match, the boss acknowledged that the Chilean has what it takes to become a truly amazing striker, which, considering how he was playing in that position at the beginning of the season, is quite something.

https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/805139557033320452

“Look, he has all the ingredients to be a top class striker and he shows that now in every game. In a game like that today, again he is quick, he is quick to close down, he can dribble, he has short backlift.

“He has a killer instinct and it shows again that the South Americans, at the moment in world football, are the leading strikers. You have to acknowledge that.

“If you look through the top strikers in Europe, they are basically all South American now.”

When Alexis was initially stuck up top in favour of Olivier Giroud, who needed rest following his late involvement for France in Euro 2016, he seemed isolated. Alexis hates not being part of the action so he found himself drifting out of position, trying to get involved, leaving big gaps where a striker was supposed to be.

Now, Alexis has carved out his own striker role. He’s different to Giroud; he’ll come deep, tear away from defenders and weave in and out. He’s truly amazing to watch and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season has in store for him.