Alexis Sanchez Has Built Two Artificial Pitches in His Hometown Tocopilla

Arsenal's Chilean forward, Alexis Sanchez, has revealed the work behind the scenes he does in his hometown of Tocopilla.

The 27-year-old told Arsenal.com he has funded the construction of two artificial pitches in the town he grew up in, and he tries to organise events there whenever he returns.

"I wanted kids to have a decent pitch to play on as I never had that," he said. "I'm lucky that I've had the opportunity to leave the country and play football, but it's a small town and these kinds of opportunities are not present."

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Sanchez, who joined the Gunners from Barcelona in 2014, said he couldn't visit last Christmas because he was receiving physiotherapy in London.

He hopes his efforts will keep local children away from bad influences.

"People can end up going down the wrong path, like alcohol and drugs, and that's bad news for children. Whenever I am there I try to set up events, play with the kids and promote other things," he said.

Sanchez is currently on international duty with Chile, who face Venezuela on Wednesday, before returning to Arsenal to prepare for Saturday's Premier League match against Watford.

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In 80 games for the north London club, Sanchez has scored 36 goals and says he does what he can back home just to see the smiles on the faces of the children.

"I honestly believe that small children are the most important things in the world," he said. "They learn from us as adults and it's really important to do things like this."

[YouTube, Arsenal.com]