Alexis Sanchez: 'Every time someone takes the ball off me I feel like I've been stripped of my toy'

The Arsenal forward just hates losing the ball

Thursday 28 May 2015 10:54 BST

Alexis Sanchez (GETTY IMAGES)

Alexis Sanchez has said that when dispossessed of the ball it feels as though he's been "stripped of my toy".

The Chile international has had a big impact at Arsenal since signing last summer, with his work-rate gaining equal recognition as his ability.

The former Barcelona player's willingness to chase down lost causes and harass opponents in a bid to win the ball has seen him become a fan favourite at the Emirates. However, in an interview with BT Sport, Sanchez explained that winning over the supporters is not the driving force behind his style of play.

"I don’t really perceive that [the desire to win the ball exciting fans]. Every time someone takes the ball off me I feel like I’ve been stripped of my toy. When a player takes the ball off me I just want to win it back. That could work as a motivational tool for my team-mates but I don’t think about that on the pitch."

Sanchez will be hoping to cap his first season of English football by lifting the FA Cup this weekend. Arsenal take on Aston Villa at Wembley on Saturday.

"The FA Cup is a competition with amazing history," said Sanchez, "Today we watched a video about Arsenal’s previous wins and thanks to the clips I trained with even more motivation. I hope we can win the cup so the Arsenal supporters are happy."

Premier League 2014/15 memorable moments

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1/12Premier League 2014/15 memorable moments

Premier League 2014/15 memorable moments

Comical tackle of the season

Phil Jones’ commitment has never been in question – but he really went the extra mile in May’s Premier League clash against Arsenal. Having slipped with Olivier Giroud on his shoulder, the defender managed to nod a header away – despite lying flat on the ground. Former Gunners defender Martin Keown labelled him as a “comical stuntman” – and it’s hard to disagree on this showing.

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Premier League 2014/15 memorable moments

Unluckiest player of the season

In the opening match of the season, Ashley Young may have seen Ki Sung-Yeung’s goal and thought it was going to be a bad day – but little did he know, it was about to get a whole lot worse for him. Whilst berating team-mates for their defending, videos appear to show bird excrement falling from the sky and straight into the midfielder’s mouth – something he still denies, of course.

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Premier League 2014/15 memorable moments

Best free-kick

“It was a boring game and I livened it up. My mates think I’m a legend” – the words of Jordan Dunn, the pitch invader who ran on to take a free-kick in August’s match between West Ham and Spurs. His effort was arguably better than many seen on the pitch that day, but Dunn was subsequently fined £305 for his moment of madness.

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Premier League 2014/15 memorable moments

Best worst celebration

Charlie Adam’s reaction to scoring one of the goals of the season? A not-so-great robot celebration – which led team-mate Peter Crouch to judge it as “horribly wrong”. Adam had just scored from his own half against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, but many will remember the goal for other reasons.

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Premier League 2014/15 memorable moments

Worst attempt at a head-butt

An addition to the historic list of on-field battles between Manchester United and Arsenal, Gunners midfielder Jack Wilshere took umbrage with opponent Marouane Fellaini – and appeared to head-butt the Belgian. Wilshere’s nine inch height disadvantage meant that his strike failed to meet its target, however, probably helping him to avoid an FA ban.

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Premier League 2014/15 memorable moments

Strangest complaint

Match officials will carry out a number of checks before every match – ensuring twenty-two are on the field of play, checking there are no holes in the nets and so on – but in October, before Leicester’s match at Swansea, the away team’s goalkeepers became convinced that the crossbar was too high and complained to the officials. Checks were made – and the goals were found to be the correct height.

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Premier League 2014/15 memorable moments

Biggest loser at mind games

After West Ham’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United in February, Hammers chief Sam Allardyce accused his opponents of purely playing long-ball football – much to the Dutchman’s anger. Instead of brushing the comments off, Van Gaal produced a document to suggest it was actually Allardyce’s men who lumped the ball forward more often. Big Sam’s efforts to get under the skin of his counterpart had worked.

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Premier League 2014/15 memorable moments

The Alan Pardew award for bonkers behaviour from a manager

In February, the pressure was starting to mount on Leicester boss Nigel Pearson – and things threatened to come to a head during his side’s 1-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace. Eagles midfielder James McArthur had collided with the hot-headed manager on the touchline, and instead of helping him to his feet, Pearson appeared to strangle the 27-year-old. He subsequently escaped punishment by the FA.

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Premier League 2014/15 memorable moments

Most topical celebration

On the day of Manchester United’s victory over Spurs in March, a video emerged showing the United Wayne Rooney skipper being knocked to the ground in a boxing match in his own home by ex-team-mate Phil Bardsley. He went on to celebrate his goal in the 3-0 win with a celebration imitating his own knock-out.

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Premier League 2014/15 memorable moments

Weirdest press conference/best name calling

Nigel Pearson has always been a manager who will back his players – even if it means ostracising himself from the media. A journalist had asked Pearson to explain his comments that his side had faced a high level of criticism and negativity, and instead of giving a reasoned answer, Pearson labelled the reporter as an “ostrich” and said his “head must be in the sand”.

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Premier League 2014/15 memorable moments

The delusional boaster award

Step aside Jose Mourinho – you’re not the best coach in the Premier League, according to Newcastle boss John Carver. His suggestion for the mantle? Himself. Speaking recently, on the back of eight straight defeats, Toon boss Carver made the bold statement – perhaps to deflect attention onto himself and away from his struggling squad.

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Premier League 2014/15 memorable moments

Playground moment

Cesc Fabregas has always been able to pick a pass – and showed this more than ever in May’s away trip to West Brom. During a break in play, the Spaniard’s 20-yard punt hit opponent Chris Brunt on the head whilst referee Mike Jones was dealing with another incident. Jones saw Fabregas’ strike and showed him a straight red card – but his three-match ban has since been reduced to just one, after Chelsea successfully argued the initial punishment was excessive.

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Whilst an FA Cup trophy would be welcomed by Sanchez it is in other competitions that the 26-year-old hopes to enjoy more success with Arsenal.

"It has been a positive season but I have still got ambitions to win more," he told BT Sport in an interview that will be aired during coverage of the final. "I would like to be closer to winning the Premier League title and get further in the Champions League. Every time I play I do it with the same motivation. I want the team to grow more and to compete in every competition we play."

The FA Cup Final is live on BT Sport. Watch all the build-up, including the full interview with Alexis Sanchez, on BT Sport 1 with a live preview show at 1pm from Wembley ahead of the live match coverage from 5pm.

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