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Arsenal's Bruno Guimarães on unique penalty technique: 'Not working anymore'

Arsenal midfielder Bruno Guimarães has admitted that his penalty technique "is not working anymore," saying that he has to change the way he takes them in an exclusive interview with ESPN Brasil.

Guimarães' stutter-step penalty style has come under the spotlight in recent weeks with the Brazilian's missed penalty the reason for Arsenal's shootout defeat to League Two Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup last week.

It joined an alarming recent record from the spot with Guimarães missing three out of his last four penalties for his club and country.

"Look, I think I've been taking my penalties in a certain way. I tried it during the World Cup, and I tried it here, too. It's clear to me now that it's not working anymore," Guimarães told ESPN Brasil.

"I'm humble enough to acknowledge that I need to improve and that I have to change the way I take them. But one thing is certain: this doesn't change who I am as a player or as a person.

Bruno Guimarães' missed penalty proved crucial in Arsenal's Carabao Cup defeat to Fleetwood Town. Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images

"As I said, I'm humble enough to admit that my recent penalty kicks haven't been good. My record before the World Cup was very strong, but lately, I haven't been able to deliver at that same level. It's something I need to work on, I have to train differently.

"Life doesn't stop, and the challenges keep coming. We have another match this Sunday, and if I let this get to me, I'll only spiral downward.

"Or should I turn things around instead? I need to mature through my mistakes and learn from them. I've already decided that I shouldn't continue taking them the way I was."

Guimarães also said he takes "three or four" penalty kicks every training session as he aims to restore his positive spot-kick record.

"I think the most important thing is not to be afraid of what might happen, it's about putting in the work during training so that when the moment arrives, I'm ready," he said.

"Every single day now, I take at least three or four penalty kicks, I want to be prepared in case it happens again. I can't let my teammates down, and I can't let our people down.

"We know it can happen [missing penalty kicks], we saw it at the World Cup, with Messi missing a penalty, Mbappé missing one, and plenty of others missing as well. It's obviously a situation we'd rather avoid, but I'm humble enough to recognize when something isn't going right.

"What I need to do is work even harder so that when the next opportunity comes along, I can step up and not let it go to waste."

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