Arsene Wenger reveals Alexis Sanchez wants to start Arsenal's first Europa League game in 20 years against Koln

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Arsene Wenger has seemingly lined Alexis Sanchez up to make his first start of the season in the Europa League on Thursday night against Koln.

The Chilean made his first appearance at the Emirates Stadium of the season as he came off the bench to a chorus of boos from the home support during the 3-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday.

However he looked lively when on the pitch after the disappointment of missing out on a deadline-day move to Manchester City and will instead see out the remainder of his contract with Arsenal before leaving on a free transfer next summer.

Alexandre Lacazette and Danny Welbeck were paired up front from the start and took a full share of the goals after Wenger deemed Sanchez not yet physically ready to play 90 minutes after a double header for Chile last week.

But, with Arsenal making their first Europa League appearance for 20 years, the Frenchman could use the opportunity to hand Sanchez a start, despite admitting he intended on using the competition for the younger players during the summer.

“He is focused, he told me he is focused on the Premier League and Europa League,” said Wenger. “He had a bad result with Chile against Bolivia [last week], but he came back full of desire and ready to play.”