Sanchez has earned timely breather

Sanchez has earned timely breather

Arsene Wenger was not surprised to see Alexis Sanchez quickly become Arsenal's main man after leaving the shadow of Lionel Messi at Barcelona, but will give the in-form Chile forward a much-needed "breather" next week.

Sanchez netted his 14th goal of an impressive debut campaign to secure a 1-0 win over Southampton on Wednesday night which moved the Gunners back up into the top four of the Barclays Premier League.

But Wenger admits the Chile forward is very much "in the red zone", having played some 27 matches already for club and country, so intends to allow him to miss next week's Champions League tie away to Galatasaray, with Arsenal already qualified for the knockout stages.

"I will have to give him a week's break at some stage, yes, to give him a breather. He will not go to Turkey," said Wenger.

"I did it with many players before who were a little bit playing every game. I did it with (Thierry) Henry, with (Robin) van Persie and it always helped them to get through without being injured.

"You have to know when to rest him and when not, but I think at the moment he plays at his peak on the edge."

Sanchez was signed from Barcelona in a B£32million summer move after the World Cup, and Wenger is glad to see the industrious forward making the most of his new surroundings at the heartbeat of the Arsenal side.

"It is not easy in a team where you have such a dominant figure as Messi. The game naturally goes through the strong point, so in Barcelona the game goes through Messi. It means the other players become a bit more peripheral," the Arsenal manager said.

"You can see now when you watch Barcelona, (Luis) Suarez was a super dominant figure at Liverpool and sometimes (this season) you think 'where is he?'

"I am certain he will find his place, but it is not easy for the players there."

Wenger added: "Sanchez is a guy who likes big games, and for me that is the most important thing in a big player.

"It is a kind of leadership on the pitch, he does not stay out of the game and just says 'I want to do this, I want to do that'."

While Wenger accepts he has to manage Sanchez carefully to avoid burnout, he knows the player is not about to volunteer for some downtime.

"When you have a player who wants to run, you don't stop him. He is enthusiastic, he loves to play," said Wenger, who accepts Arsenal must "share" the goals around so as not to become over-reliant on Sanchez.

"He has quality that, in the morning he comes in and he is fresh. I don't know what he does overnight."

Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross - whose tackle on Aaron Ramsey in 2010 left the Gunners' midfielder with a double leg break - claims the home fans' 'dislike' of Arsenal will lead to a "tasty game" at the Britannia Stadium.

Wenger - who once labelled Stoke's tactics under former boss Tony Pulisas "rugby on the goalkeepers" - believes his side must concentrate on their own game and called on referee Anthony Taylor to make sure no one takes any liberties.

"We go there with commitment, after that you have to trust the referee to make the rules are respected," said Wenger.

"I don't know what (tactics) they (Stoke) will decide, we just have to stand up to what we face and show our personality and our quality."

Source: Euro Sport