Arsenal had Alexis Sanchez to thank for securing three points on Saturday, against a Burnley side clearly struggling at this level.

Hailed by his boss Arsene Wenger as a “winner” and a “quality player” the live-wire Chilean scored twice and showed some dazzling touches against the league’s bottom side.

Wenger also suggested he was beginning to see the best of the former Barcelona attacker, who arrived in the summer.

“Through the middle he looks more goal-dangerous,” he said. “He’s in full confidence, he is physically strong, he likes to take people on.”

Sanchez fully merited that praise for while he was on the pitch there was always hope that the Gunners would find what at times looked liked being an elusive breakthrough.

That eventually arrived on 70 minutes when Sanchez leapt between two defenders to meet Calum Chambers’s cross and power in a header.

Two minutes later they doubled their lead, this time Chambers himself prodded home for his first senior goal after a Danny Welbeck effort had been blocked on the line. 

Until then the Clarets — who survived a major first-half penalty appeal when George Boyd appeared to handle a corner — had succeeded in frustrating the home side.

Goalkeeper Tom Heaton stopped a succession of efforts from Welbeck, Sanchez and Santi Cazorla in both halves and afterwards Burnley boss Sean Dyche acknowledged the gulf in glass.

“They get their noses in front these boys and it’s very hard. They are clinical, they have pace, they have cleverness and quality everywhere,” he said.

Anderlecht then — who take on the Gunners at the same venue tomorrow night — have been duly warned.

Wenger expects Jack Wilshere to return for that Champions League encounter and will also have Theo Walcott available after a lengthy injury lay-off. 

Walcott said he’d “felt good” in his short run-out during the closing stages in which Arsenal scored their third. 

“For Theo it must be great as well to see that everybody wants him to come on,” said Wenger.

“When you think that we have not got a number of offensive players like Ozil, Wilshere and Giroud, there is a lot of competition in the forward positions.”

With seconds remaining that man Sanchez was again on hand to waltz the ball into the net for his own second of the afternoon. 

In the end it was no more than he, or Arsenal, deserved.