Monday 14 March 2016 16:31, UK
Barcelona star Dani Alves says Alexis Sanchez has been a success at Arsenal because he is the team's "protagonist".
But it was Sanchez's virtuoso nature that meant he could not succeed at Barca, where Alves insists you need to completely understand the team's philosophy.
The pair, who played together at the Nou Camp until Sanchez switched to the Gunners in 2014, will clash again in the Champions League quarter-final second leg in Catalonia on Wednesday, with Arsenal trailing 2-0 from the first leg at the Emirates.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Alves said: "Alexis didn't fail at Barcelona but it's hard to play here because you have to understand the playing idea.
"He's a great player and I always knew that he would be a success when he left, especially if he went somewhere he would be the protagonist. He's the kind of player who needs that.
"In the end, you're going to have the protagonism anyway but you have to understand that, at Barcelona, it's not enough just to be a great player. You need to have a great understanding of the way Barcelona play and, if you do, then you will have a long career here.
"Those that come and go, and that doesn't mean they're bad players. They go somewhere else and they enjoy it because they're beasts. But at Barcelona it's not enough just to be a beast of a player."
Pep Guardiola will take over at Manchester City this summer but Brazil international right-back Alves joked that he does not think his former manager will give him a call.
Alves, 32, says he still has the desire to play in the Premier League, but said: "'I don't know when.
"I would like to play there - to experience what I have seen so many times from the sofa at home. The people experience football in England; the way there is a corner and it's cheered like it's a goal. I have always said that it was something that I wanted to do."
