Despite a slow start, Alexis Sanchez finished Arsenal’s 5-0 FA Cup win over Lincoln as the best player on the pitch – nothing new there.

The Chilean’s had a lacklustre few games recently so a simple tie against non-League opposition was probably a sensible way to get him back into the right frame of mind. Despite not particularly troubling the Imps in the first half, the forward came out in the second fighting and was heavily involved in this point onward.

As Arsenal turned the screw, Alexis began to cause Lincoln more and more problems before finally scoring a lovely goal in the 71st minute to put the Gunners 4-0 ahead. He also assisted Aaron Ramsey’s goal to put Arsenal 5-0 in the lead.

This means that the 28-year-old has been involved in 35 goals in 35 games.

https://twitter.com/Squawka/status/840641248838971392

Despite getting his goal, Alexis continued to attack, his superior fitness pushing him past Lincoln’s defence time and time again, and allowing him to run riot. He even hit the bar in the dying minutes from a free-kick.

The Chile international finished the game with a total of four shots, although just one was on target; 88% pass completion rate; won three tackles and a corner. It also surprises absolutely no one that he completed five dribbles – more than the entire Lincoln team put together.

This was a much more encouraging performance from Alexis when you look at his body language and performances during the past few games. However, you would expect this against a non-League team.

Along with Theo Walcott, he was Arsenal’s best player. It was exactly what he needed after his bizarre display against Bayern Munich on Tuesday. And probably what we need to see as fans, too.

Stats via Who Scored.