Flamini - Alexis gives the team so much

Mathieu Flamini says Alexis Sanchez is a top-class player but insists it's wrong to compare him to Thierry Henry.

Alexis has made a fine start to life at Arsenal and will collect his second consecutive Arsenal Player of the Month award ahead of Saturday's game against Burnley.

Flamini is a big admirer of Alexis and praised him after his match-winning performance at Sunderland - but he denies that he likened the Chilean to Arsenal's all-time record goalscorer, as was reported in the media.

"That’s not true at all," Flamini told Arsenal Player. "Alexis is a top quality player and is proving that in every game he plays with us, but he only arrived a couple of months ago.

"Alexis and Thierry don’t play in the same role either, so I would never compare Alexis with another legend in this club. I didn’t make any comparison.

"Alexis is a top player, but we must remember Thierry is a legend at this club. He played for Arsenal for many seasons and he did so much for this club, he won so much for this club, so you can’t make this comparison, especially not today."

Flamini has been extremely impressed with Alexis, not least because he shares the French midfielder’s appetite for hard work.

"He’s done extremely well," said Flamini. "He’s a great player and he gives so much to the team, not only offensively but also defensively.

"He works very hard and that’s very important for us because getting the ball back very quickly when the game is open makes all the difference. He’s a great finisher, has a great spirit and we’re all really excited that he’s with us."