Udinese veteran Antonio di Natale has declared Arsenal ace Alexis Sanchez the best player he's played alongside.

Di Natale played for three years alongside the Chilean.

"Yes he's the best partner I had in my life," he said. "I've played with a lot of champions, but he is the best; and he's proven it by performing for enormous clubs such as Barcelona and Arsenal.

"It's quite easy to be a star in a little or medium team, where there is no pressure and where competition is far from ferocious.

"But to confirm your individual qualities within the biggest teams is something only few can achieve.

"I knew that Udinese had bought a good youngster from Chile who was supposed to be a real talent.

"Alexis was bought from Cobreloa and then loaned to Colo Colo and later to River Plate: he made the 'jump' to a bigger team [Colo Colo] and a different and more competitive league [Argentina] in his stride.

"We knew he was a star in the making and that, even though he was very young. I was amazed by his technical skills: he did things with the ball that were more typical of a juggler than a footballer.

"Although he is now a truly international star he hasn't changed; there's not a drop of arrogance in his attitude. He's the same old boy he was in Udine."