He's BACK! Awesome Alexis hits form at the perfect time for Arsenal

For most of 2015, Arsenal supporters have been wondering what happened to the version of Alexis Sanchez that tore apart Premier League defences in his first few months in England.

Well he returned with a bang on Saturday with a sensational hat-trick as Arsenal won 5-2 at Leicester to move to fourth in the table, three points behind leaders Manchester United.

Alexis came into the game having not scored so far this season and looked short of sharpness and confidence in the final third. But it all seemed to come flooding back to him here as he scored the Gunners’ second, third and fourth goals on a crazy afternoon under the sun in the East Midlands.

The first was a close range tap-in when he found himself in the right place to put Arsenal 2-1 ahead at half-time. The second was a fantastic leap and header from Mesut Ozil’s glorious cross.

And Alexis was brimming with confidence by the time he completed the hat-trick when he cut in from the left and smashed a thumping strike into the bottom corner from 25 yards.

"He’s back to his level," Wenger purred in his post-match press conference. "He won a big competition with Chile the Copa America and I think mentally to adjust to a competitive level takes time.

"You could see in training in the last week or two that he’s back to his best.

"I think he’s mobile, works hard for the team and can score goals."

It was a performance from both Alexis and Arsenal that came at the perfect time, hours after Manchester City’s heavy defeat to Tottenham and when a real statement performance was needed - and delivered.

Arsenal supporters might even start dreaming again about a potential title challenge that has looked well beyond them so far this season.

If they are to challenge for their first Premier League title since 2004, they will need Alexis in this sort of form for the rest of the season. The £35 million Chilean has the ability to to open up any defence, possesses frightening speed and is a predatory finisher.

He received able support from Theo Walcott, who slotted in Arsenal’s equaliser to extend his excellent form to 12 goals in his last 13 Premier League starts. At that stage, Leicester were ahead through Jamie Vardy’s opener and pushing for a second goal.

"They had a stronger start and I was concerned after they scored the first goal," said Wenger. "After the equaliser, our technical quality and pace caused them problems."

Much of that quality was provided by Alexis as he gave Arsenal the lead and then extended it.

Vardy scored his second of the game late on to make it 4-2 before Olivier Giroud scored Arsenal’s final goal in added time. The Gunners’ five goals here doubled their tally from their previous six league matches this season.

Wenger spent much of the summer transfer window hoping to sign a world-class striker like Karim Benzema. If Alexis can build on this performance and get back in the goals, he might be the man who delivers his manager's wish.

And with key fixtures against Olympiacos and Manchester United to follow in the next eight days, Gunners fans will be hoping this really is Alexis Sanchez back to his jaw-dropping best.