Arsene Wenger has suggested that Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez is just as lethal as the "explosive" Barcelona ace Luis Suarez.

The Catalans offloaded the Chilean to Wenger for £25m last summer, before replacing him with Suarez - then at Liverpool - for a reported £70m.

In 2013, the French manager infamously submitted a £40,000,001 bid for the Uruguayan in the belief that anything over the £40m-mark would trigger his release clause.

Despite failing to prise Suarez from Anfield, Wenger insists that he is happy to have ended up with Sanchez, who finished as the Gunners' Player of the Year last term after scoring 23 times in all competitions.

"Sanchez and Suarez are at the same level. Suarez is a central striker and Sanchez is more a wide player who likes to go up and down and is involved in dribbling, but they have similarities," he told reporters.

"Sanchez has that desire to go forward and provoke, he is a guy who provokes chaos in the defences because he has a go at them. He does not go across, he goes straight. His desire to go forward, to provoke opponents, to run at people, creates danger.

"And he plays to win in every single game. I have had players like that before, players who want to win so much, but he has the style as well. What Sanchez has is that, in the first two yards, he is lightning quick. He has that explosive attitude linked with his spirit and that makes him even more spectacular."

Wenger's men host Liverpool at the Emirates on Monday night.