Alexis Sanchez came back from the ‘dead’ to inspire Arsenal -Arsene Wenger

The Gunners chief praised the Chilean superstar after his double helped down Bournemouth 3-1 at the Emirates to stay in touch in the title race

Alexis Sanchez came back from the dead to seal victory against Bournemouth – but his contract stand-off is in danger of haunting Arsenal .

Chile forward Sanchez has been injured, patched-up and looks knackered but still produced a brilliant all-action display capped by two goals.

Sanchez has just 18 months left on his current £130,000-a-week contract but is putting an extra zero on the negotiations with every man-of-the-match performance.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger said: “Even when he looks dead, he is still alive and always finds the resources to do something special when you win the ball back. He has that gut feeling to find that extra gear to be dangerous when ball comes to him.

“The contract is important, how important it is I don’t know. We will not do that tonight. We have time in front of us.”

It was a hard fought victory and, in tough games, class players are worth their weight in gold. Sanchez was the difference between the two teams because Arsenal deserved to win but the scoreline was harsh on Bournemouth.

Sanchez was also booked for a brutal challenge on Bournemouth’s Harry After and on another day it could have been a red.

Referee Mike Jones hardly covered himself in glory, giving a highly dubious penalty to Bournemouth in the first half and then waving away a more obvious appeal after Nacho Monreal’s blatant handball after the break.

But Wenger will know that he also dropped a clanger himself by gambling on Mathieu Debuchy who made his first start in the Premier League since November 2015 – and he lasted just 14 minutes before pulling up with a hamstring injury.

That completely derailed Arsenal who started well, had gone a goal up and Wenger’s decision not even to put Carl Jenkinson on the bench meant Brazilian centre half Gabriel filled in at right back and was awful.

It meant that it was far from being a fluid Arsenal performance. They were grateful for Steve Cook’s 12th minute howler as he and keeper Adam Federici got in a mix-up and presented Sanchez with an easy chance to put Arsenal ahead.

Gabriel made Arsenal nervous in defence, Monreal’s clumsy challenge on Callum Wilson sent the Bournemouth striker sprawling in the box. Jones gave a penalty and Wilson coolly converted it with Arsenal screaming blue murder about the decision.

Sanchez hit the bar just before half time before Monreal then set up Theo Walcott to put Arsenal ahead in the 53rd minute with a rare headed goal and duly did the obligatory Bebeto-style baby celebration as his wife Mel gave birth to their second son on Friday.

Arsenal keeper Petr Cech made a brilliant save from Bournemouth substitute Benik Afobe while referee Jones denied two penalty shouts, first for Monreal’s handball and then for a push on Steve Cook. Maybe he was still feeling guilty about the first one.

It was on a knife edge right up until Sanchez scored Arsenal’s third in the 92nd minute. Mesut Ozil and supersub Olivier Giroud combined to set up Sanchez for a tap-in at the back post.

Giroud is a brilliant option from the bench for Arsenal but he felt his hamstring and is now an injury worry. Mohamed Elneny showed he is a top quality squad player while Granit Xhaka played a couple of spectacular passes but is still adapting to English football.

But for Arsenal it was a hard fought win, closes the gap on leaders Chelsea and will only strengthen Sanchez’s hand around the negotiating table.