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He will be rested for next week’s Champions League trip to Galatasaray, traditionally known as the ‘Welcome to Hell.’

But Alexis Sanchez will be needed by Arsene Wenger on Saturday afternoon for the Premier League equivalent - Arsenal’s potentially-explosive clash at arch-enemies Stoke.

Chile international forward Sanchez has shown himself to be the man for the big occasion several times since his £33million arrival from Barcelona in the summer.

Wenger believes the 25-year-old's instant success is down to his escape from the shadow of Lionel Messi.

Alexis Sanchez's Arsenal form 22 Appearances 14 Goals 3 Assists

In fact, the Gunners' boss reckons struggling Luis Suarez - who carried all before him at Liverpool last season - is now where Sanchez used to be, as part of Messi’s supporting cast at the Nou Camp.

He explained: “It’s 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.

“You could see now when you watch Barcelona, Suarez was a super-dominant figure at Liverpool and sometimes now you think ‘Where is he?’ I’m certain he will find his place but it’s not easy for the players there.”

(Image: Clive Rose)

Enjoying his new lease of life in England, Sanchez netted his 14th goal of the season to sink Southampton with just a minute to go of their Premier League clash on Wednesday night.

Despite confirming he intends to give the Chilean a mid-season mini-break next week with the Gunners already qualified for the last 16 with a group game to spare, Wenger admitted Sanchez’s appetite remains as ferocious as ever.

He said: “When you have a player who wants to run, you don’t stop him. He is enthusiastic, he loves to play. He has quality that in the morning he comes in and he is fresh - I don’t know what he does overnight.

"You can see that when he plays but he can dig deep. He played his 27th game on Wednesday since the start of the season, if you consider international games - and travelling [back and fore to South America] on top of that.

Arsenal train to face Stoke:

“He is in the red zone.

“Unfortunately, you never know how far you can push it. We are not scientific enough to predict that completely, but he has good recovery potential.

“I will have to give him a week break at some stage. I need to give him a breather. He will not go to Turkey. I did it with many players before who were playing every game. I did it with Henry, with Van Persie and it always helped them to get through without being injured.”

In Premier League terms, Sanchez is up alongside Sergio Aguero, Suarez and Gareth Bale, all of whom have carried their sides in recent seasons.

Wenger admits he has no problem with his star summer signing hogging the headlines during the first half of the campaign.

He believes it will help his other goal-getters to ease their way back to form without feeling under pressure to do so.

Arsenal 1-0 Southampton in pictures:

He said: “Ideally you want your goals shared by four or five players but I think we can do that because we have players like Giroud coming back, Welbeck, Chamberlain and Ramsey. I think they will score goals but at the moment Alexis is ahead of everybody else.

“He’s a great guy. He’s communicative. He’s integrating very well into the team spirit. He always says to me, ‘Speak English!’ He understands it all.

“He is good in the air and in the air it is all about desire. He’s a guy who likes big games and for me that is the most important thing in a big player. It’s a kind of leadership on the pitch. He does not say out of the game ‘I want to do this, I want to do that’, but on the pitch he is a leader.”