Mikel Arteta lines up another raid on Man City as Arsenal eyes Premier League title boost

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is looking to once again raid Manchester City in an effort to steal a march on the defending Premier League champions.

Despite going head-to-head against City for the Premier League title over the last two years, the Gunners have frustratingly come up short on both occasions. And that may well be what has led Arteta to embrace the mindset of 'if you can't beat them, sign them'.

The Athletic report Arsenal has made a move for Darren Rogerson, who is Manchester City’s elite development squad analyst. Rogerson is expected to join the Gunners this summer and will start working with Arteta and the Arsenal first team at the beginning of the new season.

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Prior to his spell at City, Rogerson spent time at Sheffield United, Rangers, and Derby. He also worked with City's U18 side before his promotion to the EDS (Elite Development Squad).

And Rogerson is not the only former City employee on Arsenal's books either. The Gunners managed to bring in Ben Chadwick to become their head of analysis, a role he performed under Pep Guardiola. Nicolas Jover, a set piece coach who followed Arteta from Manchester to London, has also made a significant impact at the club.

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Speaking earlier this year to TNT Sports , Arteta said of Jover: "Many years ago, especially when I was at City, and I believe that we needed somebody who specialised in that [set pieces].

"And I gave my advice to go and recruit Nico. I met him, we started to discuss how we could apply set pieces to the open play, which is also connected, they're not two separate things, it's all connected in the game, and how we could maximize that.

"I knew Nico from before, and I asked him to come and join our project, he did, and he's having a really strong impact on the team."

Switching gears from coaches to players, Arsenal has in recent years tapped bought from City, signing Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus two years ago. His contributions have been hampered by injuries, with his tally standing at 19 goals in 69 appearances across all competitions. The Brazilian has since been linked to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia.

And then just weeks after Jesus' arrival at the Emirates, Oleksandr Zinchenko also switched Manchester for London.