Arsenal’s in-form winger, Alexis Sanchez, has been scoring goals left, right and center lately and the Chilean has been selected as the next star in our 5 Things feature.
Read: 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Maradona
Sanchez, who joined Arsenal for €42.5 this summer, has scored 11 goals in his first 17 games for the Gunners, but here are five things you may or may not have known about Chilean:
1. There are many players who have gone from rags to riches with their footballing success, but Alexis Sanchez’s background is as tough as they come. He grew up in Chile’s mining region and lived with his mother who worked as a cleaner at his school to support them.
2. All young, Alexis wanted to do was play football, but he was forced to take odd jobs like cleaning cars in order to help his family survive. He used to perform acrobatics and box in the streets for money. Because of his boundless energy as a young boy he was known as “the Squirrel”, but after he displayed great talent for football at an early age, he became known as “El Niño Maravilla”, which means “Boy Wonder”.
3. After signing Alexis at FC Barcelona, then manager Pep Guardiola had this to say about him: “Alexis has stolen my heart, he’s a joy…he’s a very humble guy.”
4. When Alexis signed for Arsenal he became the second-most expensive signing for the Gunners. He also became the first Chilean to play for the North-London club as well as for FC Barcelona.
5. His hunger and determination comes from a desire to help not only his family, but the people in his poverty-stricken hometown of Tocopilla. He donated £140 000 to replace five football pitches in Tocopilla last year.
Did you know these facts about Alexis Sanchez? Have your say in the comment section below.
