Sanchez, who grew up in the Chilean city of Tocopilla, is well known for his passion on the football pitch.

And the Chile international told Arsenal Player how this hunger for the game led to him playing wherever and whenever he could as a youngster -- even if it meant going in goal.

"I wanted to be a professional footballer from when I was small," he said. "My mental approach was always to win and to go as far as possible playing football.

Alexis Sanchez says he would play football wherever he could as a kid.

"I was always playing in tournaments and initially I played in goal. I was happy as long as I was playing football. I played with older people all the time -- many of whom I really liked.

"[I played] in the street, but we also used to go to the local jail to play. We played with the people there on a dirt pitch, and I played in goal."

Sanchez, currently on international duty with Chile, was given a speeding ticket last week and must appear in court after being clocked driving at 155 kilometres per hour (96 mph) in his homeland.