Zinchenko reveals Arteta's bizarre injury trick to 'play games' with opponents

Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko has disclosed more of Mikel Arteta's bizarre tactics deployed to play mind games with opposition teams.

The Spaniard is renowned for his peculiar methods which aim to test his players and challenge competitors.

In the past, Arteta's unique approach has included secretly hiring a team of professional pickpockets tasked with taking the phones and wallets of his first-team squad during a dinner.

The exercise was supposedly done to teach his players a lesson about the importance of being alert at all times as he continues to push his team to strive for trophies.

Now Zinchenko has claimed that the Arsenal boss tries to fool opponents by persuading his injured players to pretend to be fit on matchday.

'I've seen Mikel Arteta tell injured players to come on the team bus and walk into the dressing room with their wash bag, to put the other manager off the scent,' Zinchenko told The Athletic. 'Arteta loves to play games with the opposition.'

It is a tactic the Spaniard may have been using with regularity in recent times due to the injury problems his team have endured.

Just last month, Bukayo Saka seemed destined to miss out on the Gunners' crunch match with title challengers Liverpool at the Emirates, with Arteta claiming he was 'uncertain' to play.

Arteta ended up selecting Saka in the starting line-up against the Reds, with the winger opening the scoring through a superb solo effort after just nine minutes.

Following the 2-2 draw, Arteta admitted that he likes to keep journalists and opponents guessing in the build-up to matches.

'I don't want to make it easy for anyone,' he said. 'The opponent has to make sure they do their homework - like I have to.

'When I know, I am not going to lie to you, I am not going to say, ‘He’s not fit’ and then I play him - I would never do that - but, if I am certain or I don’t want to tell you, I will keep you guessing.'

It is certainly not the first stunt Arteta has pulled. Back in 2021, the Gunners manager was ridiculed for his preparation to visit Anfield.

Arteta devised a creative plan to prepare his side for one of the toughest away trips in the division, having seen the Gunners crumble in previous clashes.

As shown in the Amazon Prime documentary series All or Nothing, after geeing his players up with some words of encouragement, the Gunners boss asked for speakers to be brought out onto the training field.

You'll Never Walk Alone was then blasted out loud in order to replicate the intense atmosphere that usually greets teams when playing away against Liverpool.

'Boys, mentally we start to play the game now. We are at Anfield,' Arteta told his players.

The tactic could be deemed a failure as the Gunners were thumped 4-0 by the Reds, although they have not been beaten at Anfield since.