Santi Cazorla claimed Alexis Sanchez ‘hated’ one thing at Arsenal that Arsene Wenger made him do

Add as preferred source on Google

Alexis Sanchez certainly divided opinion when he was at Arsenal.

No one doubted the winger’s incredible talent, but his flamboyant and explosive personality left Gunners fans frustrated with how the player came across on the pitch.

Regularly throwing tantrums, famously throwing his gloves on the ground after a draw away at Bournemouth, Sanchez eventually departed for Manchester United, which certainly rubbed Arsenal fans up the wrong way.

That said, the Chilean’s exceptional three-and-a-half-year stint at the Emirates was memorable and largely enjoyable for the North London faithful, in terms of what he actually produced as a footballer.

• READ MORE: Former Arsenal star claimed flop defender was the ‘nutmeg king’ in Mikel Arteta’s squad in surprising revelation

Santi Cazorla revealed what Alexis Sanchez hated at Arsenal

Sanchez scored 80 goals in just 166 appearances for Arsenal, leading Arsene Wenger’s side to FA Cup successes in both 2015 and 2017.

However, his petulant antics meant the club’s supporters never truly warmed to the player.

Wenger had a ‘love-hate’ relationship with Sanchez, with the French boss full of admiration for the star’s work rate but frustrated by his irritability.

Speaking in an interview with Soccer AM in 2016, Sanchez’ teammate Santi Cazorla revealed that the Chile international hated attending team meetings and partaking in video analysis sessions.

“Alexis sometimes,” Cazorla replied, when asked who the biggest moaner in the Arsenal squad was at the time.

“When we have meetings he says, ‘Again? It’s boring’. But I say to him we need [meetings] and he goes, ‘arghhh’ every time.

“Alexis hates meetings. Hate, hate. He only wants to train outside. Meetings and watching videos, he says it’s boring and that he doesn’t like that.”

It’s certainly not a surprise that Sanchez wasn’t a fan of sitting in a room and partaking in administrative activities at the training ground.

However, while he may have caused issues in meetings, he was an exceptionally impressive trainer, with Rob Holding revealing that Sanchez would randomly do push-ups midway through training sessions.

What Santi Cazorla said about Alexis Sanchez’ training

Cazorla clearly didn’t want to defame Sanchez’s character with his light-hearted jibe about the player’s inability to sit still in team meetings.

Earlier in the same interview with Soccer AM, the midfield magician waxed lyrical about the ex-Barcelona man’s persistent work rate on the training field.

“The best trainer at Arsenal is Alexis Sanchez because he always wants to train more, more and more,” Cazorla said.

“When the boss says ‘finished, see you tomorrow’, Alexis says, ‘Already?’ But he’s a great professional.”

As shown by his staggering goal and assist output throughout his time at Arsenal, Sanchez’ hard work in training clearly paid off.

While he was a polarising character, he was an outstanding player.