Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that superstar Alexis Sanchez will not play in the third round of the FA Cup.

Our Chile forward will sit out Saturday’s trip to Preston and recharge his batteries for the resumption of our Premier League campaign against Swansea next weekend, reports Arsenal.com.

At his pre-match press conference, Arsene Wenger explained his decision: ‘Alexis wants always to play,’ said the boss, ‘and on one side when I don’t play him, people say “why don’t you play him?” and on the other hand I am criticised for using him too much.

‘But I always planned in my head, no matter what happens, that in January he will need a breather.

‘What we forget is that when they go away for international games they travel to Chile. Then they play sometimes 2,000 miles away, they travel back and then they come here and play the next day again.

‘They are human beings – you have to give them a breather at some stage. Mentally and physically [Alexis needs a rest] because at the moment he is a bit jaded. You can see that he is tired.’