Football: Sanchez strikes awe as Arsenal fans pay homage

Alexis Sanchez.

Arsenal were without their three World Cup winners at the annual members' day on Friday but, even if Mesut Ozil, Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski had arrived wearing their new medals, the star attraction would have been the same.

All eyes from the stands were on the squat 172cm figure of Alexis Sanchez and inside the club shop most wallets were being emptied in appreciation of Arsenal's most expensive ever striker. The No 17 Alexis shirts have been the top seller of the summer but some novelty masks of the club's first player from Chile have also been moving with considerable speed.

Sanchez obliged for pictures with fans and a few words in broken English but was at his most eloquent once the practice match began. A blur of passing followed. Sanchez to Mathieu Debuchy. Back to Sanchez again.

A one-two with Yaya Sanogo and then a goal that drew audible gasps from the 5000 or so fans at the Emirates. It was not quite as good as Jack Wilshere's goal of the season against Norwich last year but something comparable. The 15 seconds or so of grainy footage on YouTube attracted 115,000 views by yesterday and there was a glimpse of why Sanchez is generating more excitement than any other Premier League newcomer this summer.

The pace, versatility and technical qualities are obvious. They were evident during the World Cup but also on his one previous trip to Wembley ahead of tonight's (NZT) Community Shield against Manchester City when he scored both goals in Chile's 2-0 win over England. Sanchez's skills were more fleetingly apparent during three years at Barcelona which ultimately ended with him discovering that there can be only one attacking focal point at the Nou Camp - and his name is Lionel Messi.

Yet it is still worth recalling the words of Pep Guardiola shortly before he stood down as Barcelona manager in 2012. "Alexis Sanchez has stolen my heart," said Guardiola. "He is very young, but he came forward and sacrificed himself a lot. He is very humble. I think the club has made a special signing."

Speak to anyone at Arsenal, and it is quickly obvious that researching Sanchez's personality was as fundamental to the scouting process as his footballing qualities. And to understand Sanchez, to appreciate the mentality that is so admired by both Guardiola and Wenger, you must also know about a small coastal town called Tocopilla.

There are less than 25,000 inhabitants in Tocopilla but, beyond being the birthplace of Sanchez, it has attracted global attention for also being the town in Chile that was most devastated in 2007 by an earthquake that reached 7.7 on the Richter Scale. It displaced 15,000 people and destroyed 30 per cent of all structures.

Sanchez enlisted the help of Messi and other Barcelona stars to raise awareness and funds. He also returns each Christmas to ride through the streets of Tocopilla alongside the mayor in an open top float to disperse presents to local children. "Here in Tocopilla, those who saw him realised he was one of a kind," says Juan Segovia, his teacher and first coach. "All clubs have wanted him. He played with adults and was not afraid. And you could tell, he had it in his head that he wanted to become a professional footballer."

Sanchez is hungry and ambitious and built like a middleweight boxer. He's also just as deadly.