Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez hits out at critics

Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez has hit back at critics that have taken aim at him and Chile's national team after their disastrous double header of South American zone World Cup football qualifiers.

Chile lost to Paraguay 0-3 in Santiago last Thursday before suffering a 0-1 defeat to Bolivia in La Paz on Tuesday, reports Xinhua news agency.

The results left the reigning Copa America champions sixth in the CONMEBOL group standings and Juan Antonio Pizzi's side need to win their last two qualifiers against Ecuador and Brazil next month to have any hope of going to Russia next year.

"There comes a time when you get tired," said Sanchez, who has been singled for particularly harsh criticism by Chile's media, in a social media post.

"You get tired of those who criticise you, rightly or wrongly. You get tired of those who want to see you lose. You get tired of telling yourself, 'I'm going to pick myself back up again' after another defeat.

"You get tired of telling everybody that everything will be ok. The worst thing is that nobody realizes how this makes you feel. I wear the No. 7 shirt for Chile and it's an enormous responsibility. It makes me sad that journalists and people who don't understand criticize me," the Arsenal forward added.

--IANS

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