Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez has been modelling his game on Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi after being asked to play as a central striker this season.
"I like the way that Lionel Messi plays," told Arsenal's in-house media this week.
Messi often played in the middle of a front-three during Sanchez's time at Barcelona and the Gunners star seems to be using what he saw then as inspiration to influence his own playing style as a 'number nine' this season.
"He likes to drop deep and let other players run on ahead of him, like Jordi Alba, Dani Alves and myself, when I used to play on the right there, and then look to find him in the middle again," Sanchez said of his ex-colleague.
"I like getting involved in the play more rather than chasing the ball. I like seeing lots of the ball because I have the chance to drop deep and that means I can link up with my team mates more."
Sanchez has been preferred to Olivier Giroud in a central role this season following the Frenchman's delayed start to the campaign after an extended summer break. There were doubts over his suitability for such a role, especially given his physical size, but the 27-year-old has revelled so far.
Only a small handful of Premier League players have scored more than Sanchez's six goals after 12 games of 2016/17, while Arsenal's failure to add a marquee striker in the transfer market has hardly mattered.
The positional shift has even ensured Alex Iwobi has enjoyed continued chances on the left.
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