Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez has revealed that he used to visit his local jail in Chile in order to play football as a youngster.

The 28-year-old was born and raised in the Chilean city of Tocopilla where his passion for the game drove him to play wherever and whenever he could as a young child – even if this meant going in goal.

With pitches hard to come by, Sanchez and those he played with often turned to the ‘dirt pitch’ at the local jail in his home town.

It was here the Chilean fell in love with the game and first set his sights on becoming a professional footballer.

"I wanted to be a professional footballer from when I was small," Sanchez told Arsenal Player.

"My mental approach was always to win and to go as far as possible playing football.

"I was always playing in tournaments and initially I played in goal.

"I was happy as long as I was playing football. I played with older people all the time - many of whom I really liked.

"[I played] in the street, but we also used to go to the local jail to play. We played with the people there on a dirt pitch, and I played in goal."

Alexis Sanchez goes into meltdown against Argentina Show all 9 1 /9 Alexis Sanchez goes into meltdown against Argentina Alexis Sanchez goes into meltdown against Argentina Why Alexis lost the plot The Arsenal forward could not control his temper after Chile lost to Argentina in an important World Cup qualifier. AFP/Getty Images Alexis Sanchez goes into meltdown against Argentina Why Alexis lost the plot Angrily tearing at his shirt, the forward was left to rue several missed chances as Argentina won 1-0. AFP/Getty Images Alexis Sanchez goes into meltdown against Argentina Why Alexis lost the plot The striker pulled his shirt above his head after the final whistle. AFP/Getty Images Alexis Sanchez goes into meltdown against Argentina Why Alexis lost the plot Sanchez had been Chile's best player but was unable to find a way past Sergio Romero. AFP/Getty Images Alexis Sanchez goes into meltdown against Argentina Why Alexis lost the plot He briefly flung himself to the floor as the final whistle blew. AFP/Getty Images Alexis Sanchez goes into meltdown against Argentina Why Alexis lost the plot Sanchez was just about able to bring himself to shaking hands with the officials before storming off down the tunnel alone. AFP/Getty Images Alexis Sanchez goes into meltdown against Argentina Why Alexis lost the plot The Arsenal man was unfortunate to see a stunning long-range free-kick attempt cannon off the crossbar. AFP/Getty Images Alexis Sanchez goes into meltdown against Argentina Why Alexis lost the plot Late on Sanchez resorted to taking numerous shots from distance in an attempt to single-handedly salvage a point. AFP/Getty Images Alexis Sanchez goes into meltdown against Argentina Why Alexis lost the plot But, on this occasion, the 28-year-old came up short. AFP/Getty Images

Sanchez’s future at Arsenal remains in the balance as his side continues to flounder this season. With the club seemingly in turmoil over Arsene Wenger’s own future, it’s expected the Chilean will look to force a move out of the Emirates this summer.