Alexis Sanchez has repaid Santi Cazorla’s praise by gushing about the tiny Spaniard.

There is no combination of these sentences that doesn’t make me happy.

Arriving at the club in the summer knowing very little about the players at Arsenal by his own admission, Alexis has wasted no time in getting to know his teammates and being as wowed by them as they are by him but it seems like it is Cazorla who has really caught the Chilean’s attention.

“When I arrived at the club I didn’t know the players that well, but I was really surprised by everyone’s quality,” Alexis told Arsenal Player.

“I am not saying this just because it’s my obligation to do it as a club player. Every Arsenal footballer has amazing quality. Being part of a team like this makes me very proud. I am willing to win many titles here.

“Santi Cazorla is a spectacular player. You never know whether he will kick the ball with his right or left foot. Also, he moves with short but quick strides, which is a remarkable trademark too.

“Although I knew about his quality, playing alongside him makes me very happy.”

22 goals, 11 assists and an engine that just doesn’t quit in his first season has seen Alexis up for the Player of the Season and while he’s likely to missed out to Eden Hazard or Harry Kane, he seems a shoe-in for the Arsenal player of the year.

Not bad for a player in his first season at a new club in a new league in a new country where he didn’t speak the language when he arrived.

Just think what he’s going to be like when he ‘settles‘.