Sanchez: Journey to Arsenal started in a Chilean jail

If you had to pick one place where Alexis Sanchez had learnt his trade, then a Chilean jail would not necessarily be at the very top of your list.

But, for a man who has played in the Nou Camp and Old Trafford, the Allianz Arena and the Emirates, you couldn’t be closer to the truth.

Such was his desperation to take to the field, Sanchez took football in any form he could get it back in his formative years, a determination he is now revelling in as one of the leading lights of the Premier League.

(MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/Getty Images)

But as well as missing out on the luscious grass, the 28-year-old also often found himself between the sticks more often than getting a chance to fire in the goals at the other end.

“I wanted to be a professional footballer from when I was small,” he said.

“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.”