Arsene Wenger has revealed that Alexis Sanchez’s mental toughness has surprised him.

Taking the Premier League by storm since he was signed in the summer, Sanchez is Arsenal’s leading goalscorer and has won over Gooners across the globe with his battling displays and never-ending energy levels.

But it’s not just his physical endurance that has impressed the boss, with the Chilean showing the fabled mental strength that has been missing so often from Arsenal players in the past.

“I am a little bit surprised [by his endurance],” Wenger told the press. “Not so much on the physical front, but more on the mental aspect.

“He’s always wanting to go – he recovers so quickly mentally. We are not all equal in front of that mental stamina.

“Big games are very demanding on the stress and mental aspect, and some people need longer to recover than others, but he looks to be one of the guys who is ready for it every day.

“It’s certainly exceptional to have such a straight impact on the team and on results in his first season.

“For Alexis, the challenge will be to show that he can do the same and even better in his second season.”

Although he has suffered something of a dip in form in the second half of the season, he has never stopped working his arse off and that, among many other things, is why Arsenal fans love him so much.

With a busy summer ahead of him with his national side as the host the Copa America, it will be the start of pre-season before he can finally get a much-needed break.