“Curiosity is necessary to evolve and be better” – Mikel Arteta admits copying Guardiola’s tactic with Arsenal star this season

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has revealed that he has taken inspiration from Pep Guardiola's tenure at Bayern Munich. He spoke about his tactic of using fullback Oleksandr Zinchencko as part of a midfield four, similar to the one Pep used with Philipp Lahm.

The German was one of the most versatile players under the current Manchester City manager during his time at the Allianz Arena.

Arsenal have used a similar tactic with Zinchenko. It has paid handsome dividends as the Gunners hold a strong lead at the top of the table.

Notably, Arteta worked as an assistant manager under Guardiola at Manchester City before joining the Gunners in 2019. Speaking about the tactic, the Arsenal manager said:

"It started when I was in Barcelona, we used to play a 3-4-3 diamond and one of the full-backs used to play there. But Pep did it at Bayern for the first time with Phillip Lahm and then that was developed at City with many different ways of doing it with different players."

He added:

"So that is the great thing, that you can take all the time things from other sports, other coaches to make yourself better and that curiosity is necessary to evolve and be better."

Arsenal are locked with Manchester City in what could be an exciting Premier League title race. The Gunners hold an eight-point lead at the top of the table but the Cityzens have a game in hand.

The two sides are set to face off in April in a clash that could prove to be vital in deciding the outcome at the end of the season.

Speaking about the side's preparations as the end of the season nears, Arteta said:

"I think it is going to be what we do every single day, that is going to decide our outcome, we cannot control the outcome of other clubs, what we can control is what we do every single day, how we train, how we communicate, how we behave, how is our energy."

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Arsenal join Barcelona in race for Brazilian starlet

Arsenal have emerged as the frontrunners in the pursuit of Brazilian striker Vitor Roque. According to Spanish outlet Sport, the Gunners have joined Chelsea and Barcelona in the race for the player and are making a strong push.

The 18-year-old's representatives are set to arrive in London to talk to the interested teams before moving to Barcelona.

Roque was sensational in the U20 South American Championship, powering Brazil to the title with six goals and an assist in just eight games. The Athletico Paranense player could become the next big star in Europe to arrive from Brazil.