Arsenal have announced their first signing of the summer with the capture of Barcelona and Chile forward Alexis Sanchez for an undisclosed fee. Alexis will add power, creativity and much quality to our squad Arsene Wenger The 25-year-old joins the north London side on a long-term contract after three seasons, 88 appearances and 39 goals for Barcelona. At the FIFA 2014 World Cup, Sanchez helped Chile reach the quarter-finals with two goals from four matches before being knocked out on penalties by Brazil. In total Sanchez has 71 caps with Chile and 24 goals. As many people have seen during the World Cup this summer, Alexis is a fantastic footballer and we are delighted that he is joining us at Arsenal Football Club, Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, said. Alexis will add power, creativity and much quality to our squad and we are all looking forward to him joining up with us in a few weeks. He has consistently produced top-quality performances at the highest level for a number of seasons now and we are all excited to see him integrate into the Arsenal squad. Im sure all Arsenal supporters will join me in welcoming Alexis to our club. Sanchez started his career with Cobreloa, in north Chile, before moving to Colo-Colo, in Santiago, where he won the Chilean Primera Division in 2007. He was then loaned to River Plate, in Buenos Aires, where he won the Argentinian title before moving to Europe to join Serie A club Udinese in 2008. In Italy, 20 goals from 95 appearances over three seasons earned him a move to Barcelona in 2011, where he won a host of honours including the Spanish title, the Spanish Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. Alexis Sanchez facts Date of birth 19 Dec 1988 Place of birth Tocopilla Height 5ft 6.5in (169cm) International caps 71 International goals 24 Im so happy to be joining Arsenal, a club which has a great manager, a fantastic squad of players, huge support around the world and a great stadium in London, Sanchez said. Im looking forward to meeting my new team-mates and to be playing for Arsenal in the Premier League and Champions League. I will give my best to Arsenal and want to make all the supporters happy. Sanchez will join his new team at the end of July and is expected to make his first Arsenal appearance at the Emirates Cup, which takes place at Emirates Stadium on 2 and 3 August. Arsenal begin the pre-season friendlies with a match away to Boreham Wood on 17 July. For all their pre-season fixtures, click here >>. Wengers side open the 2014/15 Barclays Premier League campaign with a home tie against Crystal Palace
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 22:29:07 +0000
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