Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez (Spanish pronunciation: [aˈleksis ˈsantʃes]; born 19 December 1988), also known simply as Alexis, is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Italian club Inter Milan, on loan from English side Manchester United, and the Chile national team.
Sánchez began his career as a youth player for Cobreloa at age 17, completing a season at the club before relocating to Italy to play for Udinese in 2006. He won his first trophies in the following seasons, winning consecutive league titles in loans spells to Colo-Colo and River Plate. In 2008, he returned to Udinese, becoming an integral member of the team in his first full season at the club. After three seasons in Italy, Sánchez moved to Barcelona in a transfer worth €30 million (£25 million), becoming the most expensive Chilean player of all time.[7]
In his first season at Barcelona, Sánchez starred in an attacking trio alongside Lionel Messi and David Villa, helping the club win the Copa del Rey, Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup. The trio scored a total of 82 goals the following season, as the club won the 2012–13 La Liga, as well as retaining the Supercopa de España, before Sánchez enjoyed his highest scoring return at the Blaugrana, ending the season with a total of 21 goals, and 14 assists. Following the high-profile arrival of Neymar in 2013, Sánchez transferred to Premier League side Arsenal in a deal worth £31.7 million (€35.8 million) a year later.
At Arsenal, Sánchez quickly established himself as the figurehead of the team, completing every season in England with double figures in both goals and assists. He also won the FA Community Shield, as well as the FA Cup on two occasions, scoring in both finals. In the 2016–17 season, Sánchez scored 30 goals and provided 14 assists, his best return as a professional footballer, while going onto being nominated for the FIFPro World XI. However, after lacking "inspiration" at the direction of the club, he signed for rivals Manchester United in a swap deal in 2018.[8]
Popularly dubbed "El Niño Maravilla" (The Wonder Child),[9] Sánchez has been a full international for Chile since 2006, and has earned 132 caps, making him the team's most capped player of all-time.[10] With 43 goals, he is the country's all-time leading goalscorer.[11] He has represented his nation at two editions of the FIFA World Cup, four editions of the Copa América, and one edition of the FIFA Confederations Cup. He played an instrumental role in helping Chile to reach the final of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, while further leading the side to their first international victory at the 2015 Copa América, scoring the winning penalty in the final against Argentina.[12] He later contributed to a repeat of this triumph, aiding in the side's retention of the trophy and winning player of the tournament at the Copa América Centenario
Born in Tocopilla, Sánchez was a product of C.D. Cobreloa's prolific youth ranks where he was teammate of current Chile national team players such as Charles Aránguiz and Eduardo Vargas.[15] In February 2005, Sánchez was promoted to the senior first team by manager Nelson Acosta.[16][17]
Sánchez's made his debut against Deportes Temuco in February[18] and scored his first professional goal in a 2–1 victory over Deportes Concepción on 18 March.[19] He played his first Copa Libertadores game against Once Caldas aged 16, which made him one of the youngest players on debut for the tournament.[20]
After an impressive season with Cobreloa, Sánchez caught the attention of Serie A club Udinese, which signed him for a £1.7 million fee, on 21 April 2006.[21] Udinese, however, began a maturation project with Sánchez and immediately loaned him to Chilean giants Colo-Colo in a season-long deal.[22]
Colo-Colo
Sánchez debuted for Colo-Colo on 23 June 2006 in a 1–1 draw with Antofagasta; he scored his first goal on 29 October during the Chilean football derby against Universidad de Chile in a 4–2 win.[23] His good performances allowed him to break into the starting lineup after successfully challenging veteran striker Mario Cáceres, and he then began partnering Humberto Suazo in the forward position. On 1 November, he scored a brace in a 4–4 league draw against Deportes La Serena.[24] as well as his first continental goal in a 7–2 thrash over Alajuelense from Costa Rica for the Copa Sudamericana.[25] Nevertheless, Colo-Colo was runner-up of that tournament after losing the final against Pachuca of Mexico.[26] On 23 December 2006, Sánchez won his first professional title after being starter in the Torneo Clausura final against Audax Italiano which his team won 3–2.
The next season, on 23 March 2007, he scored his first Copa Libertadores goals against Caracas at Cúcuta[27] where he netted a hat-trick to a 4–0 away win.[28] On 12 May, Sánchez scored his first and only one league goal during a 3–1 home win over Santiago Wanderers,[29] key in the race for title with Universidad Católica which Colo-Colo finally reached after beat Palestino 1–0 at Monumental the last matchday. Noteworthy, it meant the club's 26th league title.[30]
After Sánchez's impressive FIFA U-20 World Cup (where Chile achieved the third place with José Sulantay as coach), his loan with Colo-Colo expired and on 15 August 2007, he joined Argentina's River Plate on loan from Udinese.[31]
Udinese
After a successful season in Argentina, Sánchez left South America in July 2008 to join Udinese, where he would meet up with Chilean compatriot Mauricio Isla. Sánchez made his non-competitive debut in a 3–0 win over Bassano and was named the man of match.[32] On 14 September, he played his first Serie A match in a 1–0 loss with Juventus and four days later, he made his European debut against Borussia Dortmund. On 19 October 2008, Sánchez scored his first league goal against Lecce. After this first goal, Sánchez got into a minor slump, in which he took much criticism. The criticism ended after scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute against Bologna in a 1–0 win, being named the man of match.
The next season, Sánchez played an important role for Udinese in the Coppa Italia, being a key player in the team that eliminated Milan, assisting Gökhan Inler for the winning goal.[33] In the semi-final second leg, Sánchez was the man of match after playing a successful game against Roma, including scoring his first Coppa Italia goal in the 81st minute. It was not enough, however, as the aggregate score finished 2–1 in favour of Roma.[34] By the end of this year, Sánchez scored a total of 5 goals (4 at the end of tournament) in 32 appearances.
On 27 February 2011, Sánchez scored four of his team's seven goals as Udinese comfortably defeated Palermo 7–0, playing only the first 52 minutes of the game. This event meant he broke the record of goals scored by a Chilean player (in a single match) in Serie A,[35] beating the records set by countrymen Marcelo Salas and Iván Zamorano.
During his successful season at Udinese, Sánchez and Italian striker Antonio Di Natale became one of the best scoring duos in Serie A; they tallied 39 goals between them, two goals short of the Alessandro Del Piero–David Trezeguet duo that completed 41 goals in the 2007–08 season. In recognition of his achievements, Sánchez was named the world's most promising youngster of the 2011 season by the users of FIFA.com, where users had to choose between Sánchez, Gareth Bale, Javier Pastore, Ganso and Neymar in a poll.[36] Sánchez ranked 56th in the May 2011 edition of Castrol Performance Index and 24th among the forwards.
Barcelona
On 20 July 2011, Barcelona confirmed they had agreed to a €26 million fee (including €11.5 million in certain bonuses) with Udinese for the transfer of Sánchez, becoming the first Chilean to play for the club.[39][40][41] "Sánchez is very young," said then-manager Pep Guardiola; "He can play in all three attacking positions, he shows intense defensive skills, he's direct and from what I've been told, he's a very nice kid."[40] The transfer was finalised five days later when he passed a medical and signed a five-year contract.[42][43] "I want to learn from players like Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernández—and I want to help the club win more titles," said Sánchez.
injuries. He made his debut on 14 August 2011 against archrivals Real Madrid in the 2011 Supercopa de España first leg away match, suffering a thigh injury after a challenge by Marcelo.[44] Barcelona won the tie 5–4 on aggregate. He made his return two weeks later as a substitute in the 2011 UEFA Super Cup, won by Barca 2–0. Alexis then started the opening match of La Liga, at home against Villarreal, and scored his first goal in a 5–0 win. A week later, on 10 September, he was stretchered off after 30 minutes following a challenge from Dani Estrada in a domestic league match against Real Sociedad. Sánchez returned on 1 November in an away match against Viktoria Plzeň.[45] On 10 December, he scored Barça's equaliser against Real Madrid in a match they went on to win 1–3 away at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. On 14 February 2012, Sánchez scored the first and second UEFA Champions League goals of his career in Barcelona's 3–1 victory against Bayer Leverkusen.
In the 2012–13 campaign, on 2 October 2012 Sánchez scored the first goal for Barcelona in a 0–2 away win against Benfica.[46] On 10 February 2013, then scored his first goal of the Liga season in Barça's 6–1 home win against Getafe.[47] From February onwards, Sánchez scored in matches against Deportivo de La Coruña, Mallorca, Athletic Bilbao, Real Betis, Atlético Madrid and Espanyol to end the season with eight league goals.[48] Barcelona won the league title, ending the season with 100 points.
On 26 October 2013, Sánchez scored the winning goal as Barça beat Real Madrid 2–1 at Camp Nou in the first Clásico fixture of the 2013–14 La Liga season.[49] On 5 January 2014, Sánchez scored his first hat-trick for Barcelona in a 4–0 win against Elche.[50] He ended the 2013–14 season with a career-high 21 goals in all competitions,[51] including 19 in La Liga.[52]
Arsenal
On 10 July 2014, Sánchez signed for Arsenal on a long-term contract for a transfer fee of £31.7 million.[53][54][55] Sánchez was given the squad number 17, previously worn by Nacho Monreal, who took the vacant number 18 instead. In a statement released by the club, Sánchez said that he was "so happy to be joining Arsenal, a club which has a great manager, a fantastic squad of players, huge support around the world and a great stadium in London".[53] Manager Arsène Wenger praised Sánchez, saying that the Chilean international "has consistently produced top-quality performances at the highest level for a number of seasons now and we are all excited to see him integrate into the Arsenal squad."[53] Sánchez made his first appearance for Arsenal on 2 August 2014, as a substitute during a 5–1 win against Benfica in the pre-season Emirates Cup tournament.[56]
2014–15 season
Sánchez's first competitive appearance was against Manchester City in the Community Shield, on 10 August, playing in the first half and helping Arsenal to a 3–0 win.[57] On 16 August, he made his Premier League debut against Crystal Palace, assisting Laurent Koscielny's equaliser in a 2–1 home win.[58] He then scored his first goal for Arsenal on 27 August, slotting the ball past Beşiktaş goalkeeper Tolga Zengin in stoppage time of the first half to secure a 1–0 aggregate victory and a spot in the group stage of the 2014–15 Champions League.[59] Following the game, Wenger was full of praise for Sánchez, with the Arsenal manager saying, "He had a good game, not only on the technical side but on the fighting side. He was mobile, dangerous and has shown as well he has great fighting spirit, qualities that will be very important in the Premier League."[3] His first league goal came four days later, netting the opening goal in a 1–1 draw away to newly promoted Leicester City.[60] He then scored his second league goal in as many games against previous season champions Manchester City, demonstrating perfect technique to sidefoot a volley high past goalkeeper Joe Hart in a 2–2 draw at the Emirates Stadium.[61]
Sánchez scored his fourth goal for Arsenal, from a free-kick, as the Gunners fell to 2–1 defeat to Southampton in the League Cup.[62] He scored his first goal in the Champions League proper for the Gunners on 1 October, scoring Arsenal's third goal of their 4–1 home win over Galatasaray and also provided assists for two goals by Danny Welbeck.[63] On 18 October, he scored the opening goal and later assisted a late Welbeck equaliser in a 2–2 draw against Hull City at home. The following league fixture saw him scoring a brace against Sunderland after capitalising on errors made by defender Wes Brown and former Arsenal goalkeeper Vito Mannone.[64] On 1 November, Sánchez again scored a brace, this time against Burnley in a 3–0 victory. With that brace, he moved to 10 goals for the season across all competitions.[65] He and Yaya Sanogo scored against Borussia Dortmund in 2–0 win as Arsenal qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League.[66] On 3 December, he scored the winner against Southampton in the 89th minute to give the Gunners a 1–0 win.
Sánchez scored the first goal in Arsenal's 2–1 home win over Queens Park Rangers on 26 December and assisted the second goal for Tomáš Rosický; earlier in the same match, Sánchez had a penalty saved by goalkeeper Robert Green after being brought down by Armand Traoré.[68] On 4 January 2015, Sánchez scored and assisted his first ever FA Cup goals as Arsenal knocked out Hull City, the previous season's runners-up in the third round. Sánchez assisted Per Mertesacker and scored in the 82nd minute, being substituted two minutes later by Chuba Akpom.[69] In Arsenal's next Premier League match, against Stoke City, Sánchez was involved in all the three goals as Arsenal beat the Potters 3–0 at the Emirates. He first assisted Laurent Koscielny and then scored two goals of his own. His performance was praised by Thierry Henry, who called him, "Arsenal's best signing of the last six years."[70]
On 4 March, Sánchez ended a run of eight games without a goal by scoring Arsenal's second goal as they beat QPR 2–1 at Loftus Road.[71][72] Sánchez scored Arsenal's third goal on 4 April as they beat Liverpool 4–1 at the Emirates and was chosen as the man of the match.[73]
On 18 April, Sánchez scored both of Arsenal's goals in the FA Cup semi-final as Arsenal defeated Reading 2–1 after extra time.[74] Eight days later, he was the only Arsenal player named in the PFA Team of the Year.[75] On 4 May, Sánchez scored another brace, this time against Hull City in a 3–1 away win.[76] On 29 May, he was voted as the 2015 PFA Fans' Player of the Year.[77]
Sánchez reached his 25th goal of the season in the 2015 FA Cup Final on 30 May with the second goal in a 4–0 defeat of Aston Villa at Wembley Stadium, a long-range strike. Sánchez, who also headed an assist for Theo Walcott's opening goal, became the first Chilean to score in an FA Cup final since Newcastle United's George Robledo in 1952.[78] He capped off his first season by winning Arsenal's Player of the Year award.[79]
2015–16 season
Sánchez began his career as a youth player for Cobreloa at age 17, completing a season at the club before relocating to Italy to play for Udinese in 2006. He won his first trophies in the following seasons, winning consecutive league titles in loans spells to Colo-Colo and River Plate. In 2008, he returned to Udinese, becoming an integral member of the team in his first full season at the club. After three seasons in Italy, Sánchez moved to Barcelona in a transfer worth €30 million (£25 million), becoming the most expensive Chilean player of all time.[7]
In his first season at Barcelona, Sánchez starred in an attacking trio alongside Lionel Messi and David Villa, helping the club win the Copa del Rey, Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup. The trio scored a total of 82 goals the following season, as the club won the 2012–13 La Liga, as well as retaining the Supercopa de España, before Sánchez enjoyed his highest scoring return at the Blaugrana, ending the season with a total of 21 goals, and 14 assists. Following the high-profile arrival of Neymar in 2013, Sánchez transferred to Premier League side Arsenal in a deal worth £31.7 million (€35.8 million) a year later.
At Arsenal, Sánchez quickly established himself as the figurehead of the team, completing every season in England with double figures in both goals and assists. He also won the FA Community Shield, as well as the FA Cup on two occasions, scoring in both finals. In the 2016–17 season, Sánchez scored 30 goals and provided 14 assists, his best return as a professional footballer, while going onto being nominated for the FIFPro World XI. However, after lacking "inspiration" at the direction of the club, he signed for rivals Manchester United in a swap deal in 2018.[8]
Popularly dubbed "El Niño Maravilla" (The Wonder Child),[9] Sánchez has been a full international for Chile since 2006, and has earned 132 caps, making him the team's most capped player of all-time.[10] With 43 goals, he is the country's all-time leading goalscorer.[11] He has represented his nation at two editions of the FIFA World Cup, four editions of the Copa América, and one edition of the FIFA Confederations Cup. He played an instrumental role in helping Chile to reach the final of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, while further leading the side to their first international victory at the 2015 Copa América, scoring the winning penalty in the final against Argentina.[12] He later contributed to a repeat of this triumph, aiding in the side's retention of the trophy and winning player of the tournament at the Copa América Centenario
Born in Tocopilla, Sánchez was a product of C.D. Cobreloa's prolific youth ranks where he was teammate of current Chile national team players such as Charles Aránguiz and Eduardo Vargas.[15] In February 2005, Sánchez was promoted to the senior first team by manager Nelson Acosta.[16][17]
Sánchez's made his debut against Deportes Temuco in February[18] and scored his first professional goal in a 2–1 victory over Deportes Concepción on 18 March.[19] He played his first Copa Libertadores game against Once Caldas aged 16, which made him one of the youngest players on debut for the tournament.[20]
After an impressive season with Cobreloa, Sánchez caught the attention of Serie A club Udinese, which signed him for a £1.7 million fee, on 21 April 2006.[21] Udinese, however, began a maturation project with Sánchez and immediately loaned him to Chilean giants Colo-Colo in a season-long deal.[22]
Colo-Colo
Sánchez debuted for Colo-Colo on 23 June 2006 in a 1–1 draw with Antofagasta; he scored his first goal on 29 October during the Chilean football derby against Universidad de Chile in a 4–2 win.[23] His good performances allowed him to break into the starting lineup after successfully challenging veteran striker Mario Cáceres, and he then began partnering Humberto Suazo in the forward position. On 1 November, he scored a brace in a 4–4 league draw against Deportes La Serena.[24] as well as his first continental goal in a 7–2 thrash over Alajuelense from Costa Rica for the Copa Sudamericana.[25] Nevertheless, Colo-Colo was runner-up of that tournament after losing the final against Pachuca of Mexico.[26] On 23 December 2006, Sánchez won his first professional title after being starter in the Torneo Clausura final against Audax Italiano which his team won 3–2.
The next season, on 23 March 2007, he scored his first Copa Libertadores goals against Caracas at Cúcuta[27] where he netted a hat-trick to a 4–0 away win.[28] On 12 May, Sánchez scored his first and only one league goal during a 3–1 home win over Santiago Wanderers,[29] key in the race for title with Universidad Católica which Colo-Colo finally reached after beat Palestino 1–0 at Monumental the last matchday. Noteworthy, it meant the club's 26th league title.[30]
After Sánchez's impressive FIFA U-20 World Cup (where Chile achieved the third place with José Sulantay as coach), his loan with Colo-Colo expired and on 15 August 2007, he joined Argentina's River Plate on loan from Udinese.[31]
Udinese
After a successful season in Argentina, Sánchez left South America in July 2008 to join Udinese, where he would meet up with Chilean compatriot Mauricio Isla. Sánchez made his non-competitive debut in a 3–0 win over Bassano and was named the man of match.[32] On 14 September, he played his first Serie A match in a 1–0 loss with Juventus and four days later, he made his European debut against Borussia Dortmund. On 19 October 2008, Sánchez scored his first league goal against Lecce. After this first goal, Sánchez got into a minor slump, in which he took much criticism. The criticism ended after scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute against Bologna in a 1–0 win, being named the man of match.
The next season, Sánchez played an important role for Udinese in the Coppa Italia, being a key player in the team that eliminated Milan, assisting Gökhan Inler for the winning goal.[33] In the semi-final second leg, Sánchez was the man of match after playing a successful game against Roma, including scoring his first Coppa Italia goal in the 81st minute. It was not enough, however, as the aggregate score finished 2–1 in favour of Roma.[34] By the end of this year, Sánchez scored a total of 5 goals (4 at the end of tournament) in 32 appearances.
On 27 February 2011, Sánchez scored four of his team's seven goals as Udinese comfortably defeated Palermo 7–0, playing only the first 52 minutes of the game. This event meant he broke the record of goals scored by a Chilean player (in a single match) in Serie A,[35] beating the records set by countrymen Marcelo Salas and Iván Zamorano.
During his successful season at Udinese, Sánchez and Italian striker Antonio Di Natale became one of the best scoring duos in Serie A; they tallied 39 goals between them, two goals short of the Alessandro Del Piero–David Trezeguet duo that completed 41 goals in the 2007–08 season. In recognition of his achievements, Sánchez was named the world's most promising youngster of the 2011 season by the users of FIFA.com, where users had to choose between Sánchez, Gareth Bale, Javier Pastore, Ganso and Neymar in a poll.[36] Sánchez ranked 56th in the May 2011 edition of Castrol Performance Index and 24th among the forwards.
Barcelona
On 20 July 2011, Barcelona confirmed they had agreed to a €26 million fee (including €11.5 million in certain bonuses) with Udinese for the transfer of Sánchez, becoming the first Chilean to play for the club.[39][40][41] "Sánchez is very young," said then-manager Pep Guardiola; "He can play in all three attacking positions, he shows intense defensive skills, he's direct and from what I've been told, he's a very nice kid."[40] The transfer was finalised five days later when he passed a medical and signed a five-year contract.[42][43] "I want to learn from players like Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernández—and I want to help the club win more titles," said Sánchez.
injuries. He made his debut on 14 August 2011 against archrivals Real Madrid in the 2011 Supercopa de España first leg away match, suffering a thigh injury after a challenge by Marcelo.[44] Barcelona won the tie 5–4 on aggregate. He made his return two weeks later as a substitute in the 2011 UEFA Super Cup, won by Barca 2–0. Alexis then started the opening match of La Liga, at home against Villarreal, and scored his first goal in a 5–0 win. A week later, on 10 September, he was stretchered off after 30 minutes following a challenge from Dani Estrada in a domestic league match against Real Sociedad. Sánchez returned on 1 November in an away match against Viktoria Plzeň.[45] On 10 December, he scored Barça's equaliser against Real Madrid in a match they went on to win 1–3 away at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. On 14 February 2012, Sánchez scored the first and second UEFA Champions League goals of his career in Barcelona's 3–1 victory against Bayer Leverkusen.
In the 2012–13 campaign, on 2 October 2012 Sánchez scored the first goal for Barcelona in a 0–2 away win against Benfica.[46] On 10 February 2013, then scored his first goal of the Liga season in Barça's 6–1 home win against Getafe.[47] From February onwards, Sánchez scored in matches against Deportivo de La Coruña, Mallorca, Athletic Bilbao, Real Betis, Atlético Madrid and Espanyol to end the season with eight league goals.[48] Barcelona won the league title, ending the season with 100 points.
On 26 October 2013, Sánchez scored the winning goal as Barça beat Real Madrid 2–1 at Camp Nou in the first Clásico fixture of the 2013–14 La Liga season.[49] On 5 January 2014, Sánchez scored his first hat-trick for Barcelona in a 4–0 win against Elche.[50] He ended the 2013–14 season with a career-high 21 goals in all competitions,[51] including 19 in La Liga.[52]
Arsenal
On 10 July 2014, Sánchez signed for Arsenal on a long-term contract for a transfer fee of £31.7 million.[53][54][55] Sánchez was given the squad number 17, previously worn by Nacho Monreal, who took the vacant number 18 instead. In a statement released by the club, Sánchez said that he was "so happy to be joining Arsenal, a club which has a great manager, a fantastic squad of players, huge support around the world and a great stadium in London".[53] Manager Arsène Wenger praised Sánchez, saying that the Chilean international "has consistently produced top-quality performances at the highest level for a number of seasons now and we are all excited to see him integrate into the Arsenal squad."[53] Sánchez made his first appearance for Arsenal on 2 August 2014, as a substitute during a 5–1 win against Benfica in the pre-season Emirates Cup tournament.[56]
2014–15 season
Sánchez's first competitive appearance was against Manchester City in the Community Shield, on 10 August, playing in the first half and helping Arsenal to a 3–0 win.[57] On 16 August, he made his Premier League debut against Crystal Palace, assisting Laurent Koscielny's equaliser in a 2–1 home win.[58] He then scored his first goal for Arsenal on 27 August, slotting the ball past Beşiktaş goalkeeper Tolga Zengin in stoppage time of the first half to secure a 1–0 aggregate victory and a spot in the group stage of the 2014–15 Champions League.[59] Following the game, Wenger was full of praise for Sánchez, with the Arsenal manager saying, "He had a good game, not only on the technical side but on the fighting side. He was mobile, dangerous and has shown as well he has great fighting spirit, qualities that will be very important in the Premier League."[3] His first league goal came four days later, netting the opening goal in a 1–1 draw away to newly promoted Leicester City.[60] He then scored his second league goal in as many games against previous season champions Manchester City, demonstrating perfect technique to sidefoot a volley high past goalkeeper Joe Hart in a 2–2 draw at the Emirates Stadium.[61]
Sánchez scored his fourth goal for Arsenal, from a free-kick, as the Gunners fell to 2–1 defeat to Southampton in the League Cup.[62] He scored his first goal in the Champions League proper for the Gunners on 1 October, scoring Arsenal's third goal of their 4–1 home win over Galatasaray and also provided assists for two goals by Danny Welbeck.[63] On 18 October, he scored the opening goal and later assisted a late Welbeck equaliser in a 2–2 draw against Hull City at home. The following league fixture saw him scoring a brace against Sunderland after capitalising on errors made by defender Wes Brown and former Arsenal goalkeeper Vito Mannone.[64] On 1 November, Sánchez again scored a brace, this time against Burnley in a 3–0 victory. With that brace, he moved to 10 goals for the season across all competitions.[65] He and Yaya Sanogo scored against Borussia Dortmund in 2–0 win as Arsenal qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League.[66] On 3 December, he scored the winner against Southampton in the 89th minute to give the Gunners a 1–0 win.
Sánchez scored the first goal in Arsenal's 2–1 home win over Queens Park Rangers on 26 December and assisted the second goal for Tomáš Rosický; earlier in the same match, Sánchez had a penalty saved by goalkeeper Robert Green after being brought down by Armand Traoré.[68] On 4 January 2015, Sánchez scored and assisted his first ever FA Cup goals as Arsenal knocked out Hull City, the previous season's runners-up in the third round. Sánchez assisted Per Mertesacker and scored in the 82nd minute, being substituted two minutes later by Chuba Akpom.[69] In Arsenal's next Premier League match, against Stoke City, Sánchez was involved in all the three goals as Arsenal beat the Potters 3–0 at the Emirates. He first assisted Laurent Koscielny and then scored two goals of his own. His performance was praised by Thierry Henry, who called him, "Arsenal's best signing of the last six years."[70]
On 4 March, Sánchez ended a run of eight games without a goal by scoring Arsenal's second goal as they beat QPR 2–1 at Loftus Road.[71][72] Sánchez scored Arsenal's third goal on 4 April as they beat Liverpool 4–1 at the Emirates and was chosen as the man of the match.[73]
On 18 April, Sánchez scored both of Arsenal's goals in the FA Cup semi-final as Arsenal defeated Reading 2–1 after extra time.[74] Eight days later, he was the only Arsenal player named in the PFA Team of the Year.[75] On 4 May, Sánchez scored another brace, this time against Hull City in a 3–1 away win.[76] On 29 May, he was voted as the 2015 PFA Fans' Player of the Year.[77]
Sánchez reached his 25th goal of the season in the 2015 FA Cup Final on 30 May with the second goal in a 4–0 defeat of Aston Villa at Wembley Stadium, a long-range strike. Sánchez, who also headed an assist for Theo Walcott's opening goal, became the first Chilean to score in an FA Cup final since Newcastle United's George Robledo in 1952.[78] He capped off his first season by winning Arsenal's Player of the Year award.[79]
2015–16 season
Sánchez made his first appearance of the 2015–16 season as a substitute in Arsenal's 2–0 loss to West Ham United on the opening day of the 2015–16 Premier League. The following week, on his first start of the season, Sánchez had a header deflected into the Crystal Palace net by Damien Delaney to give Arsenal a 2–1 win at Selhurst Park. The goal, however, was later credited as an own goal by the Palace defender.[80]
On 26 September 2015, Sánchez ended a run of ten Premier League matches without a goal by scoring his first hat-trick for Arsenal in a 5–2 win at Leicester. This made him the first player to score hat-tricks in each of the Premier League, Serie A and La Liga.[81] Sánchez then scored his first Champions League goal of the season a few days later, in a 3–2 loss to Olympiacos, latching onto a Theo Walcott cross to head beyond Olympiacos goalkeeper Roberto.[82] The following league match, the last match before the international break, Sánchez scored for the third match in a row, scoring a brace in the first 20 minutes as Arsenal defeated Manchester United 3–0 at the Emirates Stadium and moved up to second place in the league.[83] After the international break, Sánchez carried on his fine goalscoring form by netting against Watford at Vicarage Road, through a Mesut Özil assist, in a 3–0 Arsenal win, keeping Arsenal in second-place and grabbing his sixth goal in three Premier League matches for the club.[84][85]
Following a brief period on the sidelines due to injury, Sánchez returned to full first-team action on 30 January 2016 in the FA Cup fourth round tie against Burnley, scoring Arsenal's second goal of the game following a low cross from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.[86] Sánchez netted his first Premier League goal since October with a goal in the North London derby against rivals Tottenham Hotspur, equalising for Arsenal in the 76th minute and keeping the Gunners' title challenge alive.[87] During April 2016, Sánchez scored in four consecutive league matches, with goals against Watford, West Ham, Crystal Palace, and a brace against West Bromwich Albion.[88]
2016–17 season
When launching their new kit for the 2016–17 season, Arsenal announced that Sánchez will change squad number from 17 to 7, which was vacated by the departing Tomáš Rosický.[89] Sánchez scored his first goal of Arsenal's campaign and grabbed his first assist in Arsenal's 3–1 away win over Watford.[90] Sánchez scored his first Champions League goal of the campaign in a 1–1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain on 13 September 2016, latching onto Alex Iwobi's rebounded shot, to secure Arsenal a point in the French capital.[91][92] Sánchez kept up his spectacular run of form throughout September by netting against Hull, then scoring assisting in a 3–0 victory over Chelsea.[93] [94] He scored a brace in a 1–4 win at Sunderland's Stadium of Light, bringing his total to 50 goals in 106 appearances across all competitions for Arsenal.[95][96] He also scored a hat trick and provided an assist in a man-of-the-match display in a 5–1 win at West Ham on 3 December.[97] On 22 January 2017, Sánchez scored his first penalty for the club (having missed his previous two) against Burnley in an eventual 2–1 win, which put Arsenal into second place in the Premier League table.[98][99] Sánchez scored his first goal in the season's FA Cup, in a 5–0 quarter-final win over Lincoln City, taking his tally to 21 goals for the season in all competitions.[100] Sánchez scored the winning goal in Arsenal's 2–1 win over Manchester City, to send Arsenal through to their third FA Cup final, in four years.[101]
On 13 April, Sánchez was included in the six player shortlist for the PFA Player of the Year.[102] He also, in May 2017, won Arsenal's Player of the Season award.[103] Sánchez finished off the season by claiming the man-of-the-match award and scoring Arsenal's opening goal in an eventual 2–1 win over Chelsea in the FA Cup Final, ensuring that Arsenal secured a record 13th FA Cup and that manager Arsène Wenger won a record 7th FA Cup in the process.[104] He finished as the club's top goalscorer with 24 Premier League goals, and 30 goals in all competitions, becoming the first player since Robin van Persie in 2011–12 to score more than 20 goals in the league.
2017–18 season
Sánchez returned from the 2017 Confederations Cup with an injury, and therefore had to miss the team's victory over Chelsea in the 2017 FA Community Shield and the team's opening 4–3 win over Leicester City. Sánchez' first start of the season came in the 4–0 away defeat to Liverpool.[105] But throughout the transfer window, there was increasing speculation about his future, with a huge amount of reports stating his desire to leave, in order to play in the Champions League.[106] A deadline day move to Manchester City was unsuccessful as Arsenal's deal for Sánchez's replacement Thomas Lemar was rejected.[107] He scored his first goal for the season in Arsenal's 3–1 UEFA Europa League victory over German side Köln, in which he picked the ball up outside the penalty area and curled a shot past goalkeeper Timo Horn, to score Arsenal's second goal of the evening.[108] Sánchez also played in Arsenal's 1–0 win over Doncaster Rovers in the League Cup, in which Sánchez provided his first assist of the season, by delivering a cross-field pass which Theo Walcott subsequently put past Doncaster goalkeeper, Ian Lawlor.[109]
Sánchez scored his first Premier League goal of the season in a 5–2 win over Everton and he also provided an assist for Mesut Özil to put Arsenal ahead.[110] Sánchez followed up this by scoring the second in Arsenal's 2–0 win against Tottenham on 18 November,[111] and a week later scoring a decisive and controversial injury-time penalty in a 1–0 win against Burnley.[112] Sánchez continued his fine goalscoring form by scoring Arsenal's third goal in a 5–0 rout of Huddersfield Town, his third goal in consecutive games.[113] He also scored with a diving header in a 3–3 draw against Liverpool on 22 December.[114] He scored his last two goals for Arsenal in a 3–2 away win against Crystal Palace on 28 December.[115]
Manchester United
On 22 January 2018, it was announced that Sánchez had completed a transfer to Manchester United, in a swap deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan move the opposite way. Sánchez was given the number 7 shirt.[116] He made his debut for the club in a 4–0 victory against Yeovil Town in the fourth round of the FA Cup.[117] He became the first Chilean to play a competitive match for United.[118] He scored his first United goal on 3 February 2018 in a 2–0 home win against Huddersfield Town, after netting the rebound from his penalty, which had been saved by Jonas Lössl.[119]
He scored his first goal of the 2018–19 season on 6 October, scoring a 90th minute winning goal to complete a 3–2 comeback win over Newcastle United, after the club initially went 0–2 down in the first ten minutes.[120]
Inter Milan (loan)
In August 2019 he was linked with a loan move to Italian club Inter Milan.[121][122]
Later that month, on 29 August 2019, Sánchez joined Inter Milan on loan for the duration of the 2019–20 season.[123][124] He said he did not regret signing for Manchester United, but did wish he had played more.[125]
On 14 September 2019, Sánchez made his debut for Inter when he came on as a 79th minute substitute in a 1–0 win against his former club, Udinese.[126] On 28 September 2019, Sánchez scored his first Inter goal from a tap-in, before he was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for an apparent dive inside the box as the club won 3–1 against Sampdoria
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