Arsene Wenger puts Alexis Sanchez’s instant adaption to the Premier League down to the fact that he feels appreciated by his team-mates.

The Chile international has scored 18 goals so far this term, and Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini said this week that he is currently the best player in England.

Wenger has been delighted with Alexis' impact and says he could continue to play him further forward following the returns of Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott.

"I believe it's because he feels accepted by the other players that he feels he is an important player" Arsene Wenger

“It's possible, he is a player who can play through the middle - but not the way Giroud plays, but because of his mobility,” the manager said.

“His two assets are the quality of his runs and his reception of the ball. He gets into areas where you can find him. When he gets the ball short he can run at people. But he can also play further forward because of the timing of his runs.

“He is one of the fastest to adapt to the Premier League. I believe it's because he feels accepted by the other players that he feels he is an important player.”

Most of Alexis’ best displays this season have come at Emirates Stadium, but Wenger insists he can perform equally well away from home.

“Yes, it's true that at Chelsea and Liverpool he wasn't at his best,” he said. “But he has some good away games too.

“It's maybe because the team has not been as effective away from home, because when you are a striker you depend a little bit on how much your team pushes forward.

“As a team we didn't play as well as we would like and it was difficult for the strikers to get good balls. We played with Alexis, Giroud and Welbeck and they didn't have the ball they need and maybe they weren't at their best at the time.”