Alexis Sanchez attends unveiling of his statue in home city of Tocopilla

The Gunners forward, who is expected to leave the Emirates after turning down a lucrative new contract, returned to his home city of Tocopilla to help unveil a statue of himself on Friday.

A large crowd turned out to see Sanchez cut a ribbon as the colourful effigy of him wearing a full Chile kit was revealed to the public.

As well as the statue of Sanchez himself, a large Arsenal crest and those of his former clubs are displayed on either side. A sculpture of the Copa America trophy Chile won in 2015 also sits proudly at the front.

The unveiling went ahead despite vandals damaging the crest of Chilean side Colo Colo, where Sanchez spent the 2006-07 season on loan.

The 28-year-old also posed with Hollywood Walk of Fame-style handprints and footprints.

According to reports, Sanchez wrote this message to sit alongside his handprints: ‘Never feel sad because someone tells you [that] you can’t do something in your life. If you have a dream you have to protect it.’

Sanchez only attended the unveiling for a short time, but he appeared in a far better mood after throwing a tantrum during Chile’s 1-0 defeat by Argentina on Thursday.

The former Barcelona man was pictured shouting and tugging at his shirt during the World Cup qualifier, which saw Lionel Messi score the only goal from the penalty spot.

Chile now sit sixth in the South American qualifying table, one point off an automatic spot for the 2018 tournament in Russia. 

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