Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez explains the work he does for children in his hometown

Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez has revealed that he tries his best to help children in his hometown as they are poor and do not have the facilities that are available abroad. The Chilean has built two artificial pitches for children to play on and brings presents whenever he is in that part of town.

Sanchez is currently on national duty with Chile, where his team recently beat Venezuela 4-1 in the qualifiers of the 2018 Fifa World Cup, having been defeated by Argentina 2-1 in the last game. The 27-year-old believes that he has some responsibility towards the people of Tocopilla as he understands the need for better infrastructure in such towns, having not had anything while growing up in that part of the world.

His main motivation to do this and give something back to society stems from the fact that he does not want children to go down the wrong path and get addicted to drugs or alcohol. Alexis added that children learn from adults and it is imperative that someone who has done himself proud in life goes up to them and becomes a role model.

"I built two football pitches because I wanted young kids to have a decent pitch to play on, because I didn't have one when I was younger," Alexis told Arsenal's official website."I'm lucky because I've had the opportunity to leave the country and play football, but it's a small town and opportunities are not common.

"People can end up going down the wrong path with alcohol and drugs, and that's bad news for kids. When I'm there I try to set up events where I play with the kids and try to boost them. Every time I go I try to set up events and get gifts just to see the smiles on small children's faces.

"I honestly believe that children are the most important thing in the world. They learn from adults and it's very important to be good role models," he added.