Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has brushed away any fears that Chilean attacker Alexis Sanchez will burn out due to the number of games he has been called upon to play in this term, claiming to be hopeful that the former Barcelona man will be able to keep up his energy level all season.
The Gunners boss made these comments after his side steamrolled past Hull City in the FA Cup third round encounter at the Emirates, a fixture that the north London side won 2-0. German defender Per Mertesacker opened the scoring after 20 minutes, before Man of the Match Sanchez doubled Arsenal's lead 8 minutes from time.
Playing 84 minutes of Sunday's game, Wenger admitted to being tempted to rest the former Barcelona man for Sunday's game, given that the 26-year-old has played in all six of Arsenal's matches over the hectic Christmas period. However, with Olivier Giroud still out with suspension, the French manager argued he could not leave out his best player for such an important match.
“I was tempted [to rest him] but [Olivier] Giroud was suspended today and I knew it was an important game for us,” Wenger revealed after the final whistle.
“In the end, he feels always ready. Can he keep that energy level up all season? I hope so. There’s no reason [he can’t] - you’re always told that when a player’s confident, [you should] keep him playing.
“When players are confident it’s important to keep them going, especially when they have that physical potential. He recovers very quickly and doesn’t look in our tests to have any fatigue problems.”
