Alexis Sanchez posted a picture on his Twitter page shortly after Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over Leicester City to reveal a cut and swollen lip that the Chile international apparently suffered during the match, but there is far more to the forward’s game than simply cutting the inside of his mouth.

Sanchez has been roundly criticised after video replays showed the Arsenal striker being hit on the shoulder by a Christian Fuchs throw-in, only to then walk off before throwing himself theatrically to the ground, clutching his face.

The incident, which took place late in the match at the Emirates Stadium, echoed the one that involved Brazil great Rivaldo during the 2002 World Cup match against Turkey when he was struck by the ball on the knee, only to collapse comically in a heap holding his head. Rivaldo was fined £1,000 for his play-acting, though Sanchez may not face any retrospective action as the ball appeared to flick up into his cheek after making contact with his shoulder.

Despite video evidence not reflecting well on Sanchez, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger leapt to his defence after the match, though accepted that he deserved the yellow card he received for not standing in the right position at the time of the throw-in.

Sanchez took to Twitter after the match to post two pictures of himself inside the Arsenal changing room, one of which showed a cut on his lip and the other seeing him holding ice on his face.

The Chile international added the caption: “Happy for the victory but ended up with a swollen lip.”

lol...who hit am