• Premier League

Wenger: Sanchez will only get better

Alexis Sanchez made it 2-0 with a stunning individual goal © Getty Images

Enlarge

Arsene Wenger believes Alexis Sanchez can continue to inspire Arsenal towards a successful end to the season after the Chile forward produced another virtuoso display in a 3-0 win over Stoke at the Emirates.

Sanchez scored twice to help sink Mark Hughes' side, his first a brilliant individual effort on 33 minutes having earlier set up Laurent Koscielny's opener to continue his superb form following a £32 million summer transfer from Barcelona.

Wenger is in no doubt surrounding the importance of the consistent performances from Arsenal's star man.

"The better the team plays, the more he is involved in the game,'' said Wenger. "We had a very offensive team today and Sanchez is confident. We can be direct with him, you can run at people a bit more, so there is a good combination offensively.

'We couldn't cope with Sanchez'

• Stoke boss Mark Hughes accepted his side just never got going in the 3-0 defeat at the Emirates.
• "We were second best to a good Arsenal side. We allowed them to get the initial goal and it was a difficult day for us,'' said Hughes, who confirmed the team were now set for a long bus journey home as a result of problems on the trains out of London.
• "This is disappointment for us as we have been better against the better teams this season."
• Hughes admitted Stoke could just not cope with Sanchez: "When you see the power he has got and the pace, he is outstanding.
• "When you try to close him down in close areas, he has intelligence and understands where everyone is."

"You can move the ball well when you have so many technical players on the pitch. It is an advantage for us."

Wenger was happy to see Arsenal produce the required collective display, which was in stark contrast to when they had lost away at Stoke in early December.

He said: "It was not a dirty game and I think we kept it clean because we moved very well and we didn't give them any opportunity to get in too many physical challenges.

"What was important for me is that we kept a good concentration to play the game how we want to play and also that we kept a clean sheet at the back. Overall, I must say that everybody played very well.

"The only negative today is that we lost another experienced defender with a dislocated shoulder. That gives us a problem because we are already short of experienced players at the back."

Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, meanwhile, had been left to watch on from the bench as Colombian David Ospina made his Premier League debut, the Poland international having found himself the centre of some negative headlines earlier this week for smoking in the showers after the defeat at Southampton.

Wenger, however, stressed his decision was not based on any disciplinary action.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd