Robin van Persie says happiness is the key the improving Alexis Sanchez's form at Manchester United , and claims that the Chilean needs to rediscover how he felt when he first moved to Old Trafford if he is to be a Red Devils success.
Sanchez was in desperate form for United last season, scoring just once in the Premier League and only two times in 27 games in all competitions.
That came after he scored on his home debut for United in a 2-0 win over Huddersfield in February 2018, going on to net twice more in his next six appearances in front of his new home fans.
Sanchez followed in Van Persie's footsteps when he made the switch from Arsenal to United, but the Dutchman was instant success as he picked up both the Golden Boot and the Premier League title in the 2012/13 season.
And despite his struggles, Van Persie - who has taken up a role as a pundit for BT Sport this season - is still backing the 30-year-old to come good under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
"He is still a wonderful player, still a great player," Van Persie said in an exclusive interview with Goal.com .
"He needs to find a way to be happy again.
"If you are happy, you want to create and have fun. He had that in his first couple of months from what I saw and he needs to find that again.
"He can still play, he is still a fantastic football player. He just doesn't really look happy and the reason why this is... I don't know. I can only guess, but from distance, he looks unhappy and he needs to find a way to be happy again."
Sanchez returned to United late for pre-season after playing at the Copa America, and he isn't expected to feature much over the next few weeks.
