Arsene Wenger explains why Alexis Sanchez's form has dipped recently, and it's not because he wants to leave

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes he knows the reason why Alexis Sanchez has been struggling in recent weeks.

The Chilean's performances against both Manchester United and Southampton - matches in which Arsenal only picked up one point out of the six available - came under close scrutiny from Gunners fans, and also threw up some pretty unflattering statistics.

Sanchez lost possession more times in those two matches than any other Arsenal player in any other game this season, while he also covered the least amount of ground of any Gunner who completed the 90 minutes.

But Wenger believes that is down to tactical reasons rather than his mind being on a possible move away.

"I think he struggles a bit at the moment to score as much as last year but last year he played much more at centre-forward," the Frenchman told reporters ahead of Wednesday's game against West Ham.

"This year I believe in games like Southampton he came a bit too deep. We play against teams that play very, very deep and I feel he loves to touch the ball so when he doesn't get it as much as he wants he comes deep, but when you come deep you can’t score.

"It is as simple as that so maybe he has to find a better balance in his positional play."

Sanchez is still being linked with a move away, with summer suitors Manchester City still believed to be interested in prising him away from north London.