Arsenal News: Flamini Believes Sanchez is as Good as Henry and Van Persie, While The Ox Says Chilean Reminds Him of Suarez

It is always a risky proposition when you spend a lot of money on a player who has never played in the English Premier League. Having forked out over £30 million to bring in Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona, Arsene Wenger would have hoped the investment would pay off.

Going by the first few months of this season, Sanchez certainly looks worth every penny of that £30-odd million, and more.

The Chile international was at his hustle-every-single-player-at-every-opportunity best, forcing a mistake each off Wes Brown and Vito Mannone to help Arsenal to a 2-0 win over Sunderland in the English Premier League.

After Sanchez's match-winning performance at the Stadium of Light, teammate Mathieu Flamini, a harrier of the unrelenting kind himself, waxed lyrical of the Arsenal forward.

"Sanchez is a breath of fresh air to play with," said Flamini. "He gives so much for the team and not just in an attacking sense. I didn't realise he works so hard off the ball. Not just creating space for others but helping out defensively. He is a top player and has already made a big difference."

Any Arsenal forward will be compared with two of the greats of the modern era. And asked of his opinion on whether Sanchez is as good as the incomparable Thierry Henry and Robin Van Persie, two players he has played with, Flamini did not hold back on his opinion.

"From what we have seen so far of him, he is right up there," added the Frenchman, who played with Henry and Van Persie during his first stint with the club. "He is proving it in every game he plays, not just with his goals but the way he works for the team.

"Normally a player with his talent and goals would be satisfied with that but he gives more with his work-rate. When you see someone like him working so hard, it sets an example for all of us to follow."

The compliments did not stop with Flamini, though, with fellow midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also effusive in his praise for Sanchez, comparing the Chilean with former Liverpool man Luis Suarez, a player Arsene Wenger failed in a bid with during the summer of 2013 and the striker Barcelona signed to replace Sanchez.

"He's a world-class player -- everyone saw that at the World Cup," Oxlade-Chamberlain told the club's official website. "He's proved that and he's played for Barcelona where we've all seen what he's done.

"He's an unbelievable player and part of his game is his character and his hard work -- that's where he's got both his goals from.

"He reminds me of Luis Suarez when he chases everything down and he makes nothing into something. He's done that for us twice [against Sunderland] and he's scored goals at important times for us."