Chelsea man: Sanchez like Hazard… but Eden is still here

Matt Stead

Willian has pointed out that, while Alexis Sanchez and Eden Hazard are similarly “special” players, Chelsea still have theirs.

Sanchez left Arsenal earlier this week to join Manchester United in a player-exchange deal, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan headed the other way.

Arsenal will begin life without Sanchez on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg, having drawn the first against Chelsea 0-0.

Willian hopes that the reigning Premier League champions can make the Gunners pay for losing a “special” player.

“To lose this kind of player is not easy,” he told the London Evening Standard. “It would be like losing Eden here – he is a great player.

“Is he that important to them? Of course. No-one wants to lose this kind of player. They are two great players but [unlike Sanchez] Eden is still here.

“Great players have quality to play in matches like this. Arsenal have other players but Sanchez is special.

“It’s not just the Chelsea fans who don’t like losing to Arsenal. We, the Chelsea players, don’t like losing to Arsenal either. We are going into this game very strong.”