Rayan Cherki has hailed the "unbelievable" influence of Pep Guardiola, but the Manchester City winger does not intend to cut out his tricks as he wants to put on a show for fans.

The Frenchman has been an instant hit at Man City since his arrival from Lyon last summer.

Cherki has already racked up 10 Premier League assists, becoming the first player to do so in his debut campaign in the competition since Dimitri Payet in 2015-16 (12).

He is also averaging an assist every 138 minutes in the league this season (1,384 minutes), with only Cesc Fabregas in 2016-17 (111) and Kevin De Bruyne in 2023-24 (123) managing a better average among players to play 1,000+ minutes in a single campaign.

But the statistics do not tell the full story for entertainer Cherki, who appears on a one-man mission to excite supporters with his showings, so much so to distract them from anything else.

"Football, for me, is like art," he told Man City's official media channels.

"It's like music, it's like drawing. If we don't play with pleasure, you can't play better, you can't show what you want.

"And me, when I go on the pitch, I just want two things: the children, the dad, the mum, to forget about life for 90 minutes.

"A lot of people do not have my chance, and when I go on the pitch, it's to show my style and let people say, 'Oh my God, I forgot my life for 90 minutes!'

"The problems disappear. 'This style is just him, just Rayan Cherki, and not everybody.'"

Cherki's flair has not always pleased Guardiola, who was seen shaking his head after the attacker juggled the ball in the air multiple times during last month's 2-0 EFL Cup final win over Arsenal.

Ben White soon smashed into a tackle on Cherki in retaliation, but the 22-year-old was glowing in his praise for Guardiola, whose side trail leaders Arsenal by six points in the Premier League title race ahead of their huge meeting on Sunday.

"Unbelievable. Pep is crazy. He loves football. Football is him, and he is football," Cherki added.

"It's very good to work with him because all seconds, all minutes, all day we try, we try, we try, we work a lot.

"And, for me, it's better because I love it when I learn all the time. That is unbelievable."

Having set up two goals in City's 3-0 win at Chelsea last time out, Cherki could still end his first campaign in England with a domestic treble.

"I think a lot of things [about the Premier League], but the first thing is it's the best league in the world and I'm very proud to be here," he continued.

"I want to play, I want to take pleasure, I want to win games, I want to score, I want to give assists to my partners."