Alexis Sanchez 'will miss start of Arsenal season' after Chile go all the way in Copa America

The Gunners' forward scored the winning penalty in a shoot-out against Argentina in the final

Alexis Sanchez waves the the Chilean (Getty Images)

Alexis Sanchez looks set to miss the start of the Premier League season after his Chile side endured extra-time in the Copa America final before eventually overcoming Argentina in a penalty shoot-out.

Whilst most players have been enjoying the summer break, Sanchez has been among the South American footballers taking part in the Copa America tournament in Chile.

Prior to the competition, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger warned that should the hosts reach the latter stages, Sanchez would not be available at the start of the season for Arsenal.

Asked what would happen if Chile went deep into the competition, Wenger said: "That is not good news (for Arsenal) because they (Chile) finish very late and if they go very far, he will miss the start of the season."

As it was, Chile won the first major tournament in their nation's history, with Sanchez scoring the winning penalty after no goals in 120 minutes against Argentina. The former Barcelona player played in all six matches at the tournament.

Arsenal play pre-season friendlies against Lyon and Wolfsburg after their tour of Asia before taking on Chelsea in the Community Sheild at Wembley on 2 August. It is not clear how much of the start of the season Sanchez will miss, but if he were to be unavailable for August he would be miss games against West Ham, Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Newcastle.

After Germany won the World Cup last summer, Lukas Podolski, Per Mertesacker and Mesut Ozil were allowed an extended period of time off.