Alexis Sanchez will attempt to play in north London derby against Tottenham, says Arsene Wenger

Alexis Sanchez: Desperate to face Tottenham

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has opened the door for star forward Alexis Sanchez to play at Tottenham on Saturday.

The 26-year-old Chile star missed Sunday's 5-0 win over Aston Villa due to a hamstring problem and was originally ruled out of the clash at Spurs as well.

But Sanchez is desperate to prove his fitness in time to make the squad for the trip to White Hart Lane.

Wenger said: "He wants to play, he's so keen.

"[Telling him he’s not playing] is not easy! He wants to play of course. He’s very keen and thinks he can even defy the medical people because he’s so keen.

He wants to play of course. He’s very keen and thinks he can even defy the medical people because he’s so keen. Arsene Wenger

"I don’t know yet [if he could feature], I need medical advice on that and need as well to see what he can do in training."

The rout of Villa at The Emirates saw Theo Walcott mark his first start in over a year with a goal - and Wenger believes that even if Sanchez fails to recover in time, the Gunners will still pose enough of a threat in attack.

The Frenchman added: "We have enough offensive power. We don't need to worry about being short on that front."

Sanchez has struck 18 goals in 32 appearances for Arsenal since arriving from Barcelona in the summer for an undisclosed fee reported to be around £35m.