Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez will miss the beginning of the Premier League season due to his presence at the Copa America, according to reports.

The 26-year-old helped Chile win their first ever Copa America title over the weekend, and he is now starting his summer holiday.

The Telegraph reports that Gunners boss Arsene Wenger plans to manage Sanchez carefully in the opening few weeks of the new campaign, in a similar way to how he treated German World Cup winners Per Mertesacker, Mesut Ozil and Lukas Podolski last year.

Arsenal are due back in pre-season training this week, but Sanchez has been given three weeks off and is unlikely to feature against Chelsea in the Community Shield on August 2.

The Gunners start their Premier League campaign against West Ham United a week later.