Former Chile u20 coach José Sulantay accused Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez of being out of physical shape, after Chile’s 3-0 loss to Paraguay.

Speaking to La Cuarta after the game, Sulantay was asked whether the 28-year-old should have been left out of the match against Paraguay, with all the speculation surrounding his future.

He responded that the coach should have left Alexis out of the first-team, but then went on to make the claims about the Arsenal forward’s weight.

“I see Alexis overweight, I see him fat. And a player of his category can not lose the physical condition. But he was on vacation, with his spouse, living a normal life, but he is not (normal),” he said.

Sulantay led Chile’s u20 team to a third placed finish at the u20 World Cup in 2007, but had a lot of harsh things to say about the country’s senior team, in particular Alexis.

The Arsenal forward has looked out of sorts in his two matches of the current campaign in all competitions. But if there’s one thing you can usually rely on, it’s Alexis’ hard work on the training pitch.

Other players talk about it, how Alexis is one of the first to arrive and last to leave, and how he does little solo training sessions sometimes when the rest are on a break.

However, perhaps the holiday really has affected the Chilean, and when his fitness levels return his form will too. Arsenal fans will be hoping that’s the case, because the team needs a boost right now.