Arsene Wenger has heaped praise on forward Alexis Sanchez following his hat-trick in Arsenal's impressive 5-1 win over West Ham United at the London Stadium.
The Chile international continued to put fears over his fitness to one side by taking his goalscoring tally for the season to 13 in all competitions, including 11 in the Premier League alone.
Wenger was happy with the Gunners' performance in East London, but says that it is now down to his players to prove that they are mentally capable of seeing through their challenge for the title for the remainder of the campaign.
"We had a convincing performance and strong result," he told BBC Sport. "We created many chances and you could see West Ham are not a confident team at home. On top of that we had a strong performance.
"Alexis Sanchez - it took him a while mentally to get into the game, but he can always give you something special. He's a fighter and a classy player. You don't find many players like him. He can always surprise you. He also has great technique as well.
"I believe we are on a strong run and it's down to us to be mentally ready to maintain that run."
Sanchez has yet to sign a new long-term deal at the Emirates Stadium following months of discussions, with Inter Milan the latest side to have shown a reported interest in the 27-year-old.
Daniel Lewis
