Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admits he wanted to take Alexis Sanchez off before he scored in victory at Stoke City.

Alexis netted his 21st Premier League of the campaign - and his 50th in the Premier League in just 101 games.

Wenger revealed: "I didn't plan to take him off, he asked to come off. First, I thought he had done a stomach muscle, so I thought that it would maybe go away again. I left him on for a little bit to see how he responded.

"After that, he stayed on and scored another goal. That's Alexis, he's a fighter who always finds resources. He delivered the third goal which made the difference."

On the injury, Wenger confirmed it was a "kick on the thigh".