There is a game Mikel Arteta enjoys playing. It’s called: keep them guessing.
Keep the players guessing. Supporters guessing. Journalists guessing. But most pertinently of all - the opposition guessing.
For example, at around 10.30pm on October 10, one Arsenal medic received a welcome text that’d have signalled a collective sigh of relief across the Emirates.
The message was from Bukayo Saka from inside the England dressing room after the shock defeat to Greece informing said medic the hamstring injury he’d suffered in the game wasn’t serious.
Over two weeks have passed since that night. We are still to have any sort of clarity from Arteta about the extent of the injury.
Mikel Arteta's modus operandi is keeping everyone around them - from his side to their rivals - on their toes
This weekend there is a cloak of mystery around the potential involvement of Bukayo Saka
England medics were satisfied that it wasn’t serious. Arsenal’s support staff were sufficiently happy that Saka’s issue was minor that, away from the cameras, the forward was able to run freely on the grass at London Colney towards the back end of last week.
Even Arteta said in his pre-Bournemouth press conference last Friday that the ailment wasn’t serious.
Yet Saka didn’t play against Andoni Iraola’s side, nor did he make the squad for the Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday night.
Indeed, immediately after victory over the Ukrainians, Arteta told media that Saka would ‘unlikely’ make Sunday afternoon’s huge showdown against Liverpool.
On Friday morning, Sky Sports News ran footage of Arsenal’s penultimate training session ahead of the visit of the Premier League leaders with information that Saka did not train.
Speaking at his press conference just a few hours later, Arteta provided a curveball by claiming Saka had trained this week and refused to rule out the winger.
In Friday's training a number of key players seemed to be missing but Arteta shared few details
Riccardo Calafiori (seated) is one of a handful of players who could be unavailable vs Liverpool
Jurrien Timber's return is similar shrouded in mystery but the defender could feature in the tie
He also didn’t rule out fellow injured duo Ricardo Calafiori, who according to reports in his native Italy has tweaked his medial collateral ligament - an injury that would rule him out of the game again Liverpool, and Jurrien Timber, hampered by a muscular problem, from Sunday's visit of Arne Slot’s side.
Confused? If you are then, Arteta is having his way with you. It’s what he wants: a cloak of secrecy heading into match-day.
There’s a thin line between seeking an advantage and ‘stretching the truth’ - it’s a line Arteta has toed regularly during his reign at Arsenal.
It is said Arteta’s inclination to be economical with injury information stems from his dedication to marginal gains rather than a desire to mislead.
You have to wonder, however, how much there is to be gained with coaching staff at a number of Premier League sides having told Mail Sport that they no longer pay any attention to the Spaniard’s updates because they have cottoned onto his tricky methods.
With that in mind, you’d imagine Saka’s ‘will he or won’t he’ saga will have bypassed Slot as he prepares his league leaders for the biggest test of his short but impressive reign so far.
Yet it is the sort of kidology that Arteta swears by. The narrative over Saka’s availability merely the tip of the iceberg.
The Spanish manager has often been so keen to keep his methods under wraps that he has sent outgoing staff members on gardening leave
Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus, Ben White, Calafiori and Timber have all had mystery over their fitness at junctures this season. There are too many to mention from last season.
It all adds to the enigmatic air Arteta has cultivated at their Hertfordshire HQ. A siege mentality the Spaniard has nurtured.
You’re either with them or against them; so much so that Arteta has been known to put outgoing members of staff on gardening leave rather than have them see out their notice.
He’s created an impenetrable bubble for his players. For example, Arteta - more often than not - will schedule separate gym slots for his players to ensure their sessions don’t clash with other Arsenal teams, including the woman’s side.
Sometimes the players don’t even know if they are coming or going; Arteta has often selected a different team from the one that the squad believed most likely to the starting XI from the preceding shape sessions of the week.
Arteta often officially names his starting XI on the morning of a game. It’s all designed to keep players on their toes. No complacency.
It’s a strategy that has made Arsenal one of the most exciting projects in European football. But is it one that will final see them lift major silverware this season?
We'll get a preview into the answer on Sunday. Last Saturday’s shock loss at Bournemouth raised eyebrows, Tuesday’s lethargic performance in the win over Shakthar - courtesy of an own goal - did little to inject confidence heading into this afternoon.
The Gunners are in need of an immediate bounce-back after falling to Bournemouth last week
A shaky win against Shakhtar Donetsk did little to return morale to the league title contenders
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Arteta’s team selection - barring the Saka, Calafiori and Timber conundrum - will be how the Gunners’ boss copes without key centre-back William Saliba, who is suspended for the clash following his controversial red card last weekend.
Partey at right-back? White at centre-back? Fit-again Oleksandr Zinchenko’s first start since August 17? Could Jakub Kiwior play?
Arteta has options; though if Timber can prove his fitness then Saliba’s absence may not be as seismic as many believe it could be.
Questions remain over Arteta’s alternatives at centre-forward. Having not signed a striker in the summer, the Gunners are relying on Kai Havertz with Jesus no longer flavour of the month.
With Eddie Nketiah departed, Arteta will have to be creative in attack this season; Leandro Trossard has already been used as a false nine.
Time will tell whether the club’s decision not to sign a striker will blow up in their faces.
Indeed, there are figures within the first-team set-up who fear that their lack of a recognised prolific No 9 will lead to another title failure.
Arteta must overcome Liverpool if his Arsenal side are to have aspirations of a third title run
But first things first. Victory against Liverpool on Sunday and belief that this is finally Arsenal’s year will proliferate.
Lose their second successive league game and negativity will be impossible to avoid.
Arteta would pay little attention to such skepticism, of course.
He’d be right to give those reflections a wide berth so early in the season - much like how rival managers give his injury updates short shrift.