Alexis Sanchez Says He Has 'Same Abilities' as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo

Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez feels as though he possesses the natural talent to rival Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid man Cristiano Ronaldo as the finest player in the world.

Sanchez has been a huge hit at the Emirates Stadium since joining from Barcelona in the summer of 2014, adding an industry and incision to the final third. And the Chile international believes he's good enough to match the aforementioned duo.

“I have reached a level where I can compete with great players,” he told Sport (h/t Peter Hanson of Goal). “I do not feel inferior to anybody. I liken [my qualities] to Messi and Ronaldo. I have the same abilities as them.”

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In terms of inherent ability, there’s arguably not too much difference between the three. While they all have their own stylistic perks, Sanchez has a lot of diversity to his play; he is able to thread passes, beat defenders and score goals.

The difference is an ability to recreate such high standards on a remarkably consistent basis. Here is a glimpse at how the three compared statistically in league matches last term:

	Sanchez	Messi	Ronaldo
Apps (Sub)	28 (2)	31 (2)	36
Goals	13	26	35
Assists	4	16	11
Shots per game	3.6	4.8	6.3
Key passes per game	2.4	2.3	1.4
Dribbles per game	3.4	3.5	1.4

Messi and Ronaldo have taken goalscoring to a stratospheric new level. Braces and hat-tricks have been commonplace for the duo in LaLiga in recent seasons, and while it could be argued Sanchez is up against much more robust defenders in the Premier League, there is a lot of quality in the Spanish top flight.

Sanchez, formerly Messi's team-mate at Barcelona, hasn’t been able to find those standards quite yet.

The Chilean is always in the game and a pest for opposition defenders in terms of his work rate. But there have been times in his Arsenal career when his insatiable appetite for the game has left him jaded, triggering dry spells in terms of goalscoring and creativity.

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As these numbers from WhoScored.com illustrate, one area in which Sanchez can undeniably improve is his ruthlessness in front of goal:

Messi and Ronaldo regularly do the business in big games for their teams, too. Sanchez, admittedly, helped inspire Arsenal to the FA Cup in his debut season, but some memorable performances in defining matches in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League would enrich his reputation.

At 27 years old, Sanchez will be looking to the 2016-17 campaign as one of his peak seasons, and after helping Chile win the Copa America Centenario in the summer, he has shown he’s capable of swinging key ties on the internationals stage. Doing so in England and Europe would move him a lot closer to the two standout players in world football at the moment.