Arsenal's players will no doubt have gone through their routine preparations ahead of the trip to non-league minnows Sutton United in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Monday night.

The likes of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Hector Bellerin and co. don't simply turn up on a match day and expect to perform - even when they are playing a team four divisions below them in the English football pyramid.

How a player trains, looks after themselves, sleeps and eats are all important factors that can define whether a player puts in a Man of the Match performance or has a game to forget.

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Danny Welbeck is set to be rested for the cup tie as Arsene Wenger takes precautions with his forward who only returned to action at the start of 2017, following a long-term injury, as the Gunners prepare to play on an unfamiliar 3G surface.

It's just one of the precautions teams at the highest level take in order to look after their players and ensure they can build their way up to, and maintain, peak fitness.

But outside of the top four divisions of English football, it appears that life as a footballer is very different off the pitch where players are concerned.

Sutton's Nicky Bailey is one of the club's few players to have played in the Football League, having cost Middlesbrough £1.4 million when he signed from Charlton Athletic back in 2010.

However, despite being one of the most experienced and better players at Gander Green Lane, the 32-year-old admits his dietary habits differ significantly from those that Arsenal's stars follow.

Sutton star's unhealthy diet

Ironically, Bailey's parents once ran a fruit and veg stall, although the former Middlesbrough midfielder has sensationally claimed to never have eaten a vegetable in his life while living if off a diet of McDonald's chicken nuggets prior to a match.

“My diet has got me to where I am today! I am not the best eater." Bailey admitted, per The Sun.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a salad in my life, or a vegetable. It’s always worked for me. My pre-match meal is always a McDonald’s — nine nuggets.

“When I was younger, my mum used to try and make me eat the green stuff, but I used to sick it up.

“I used to live in a pub for five years when I was at Charlton. I used to drink in it a fair bit, too!

“When you can get away with it, you do that. But when you get older, it catches up with you — but I’ve done all right.”

Bailey seeking big impact

While Arsenal's players will be taking nutritional supplements and drinking energy drinks ahead of the game, Bailey will not be mixing up his pre-match meal for the visit of the Premier League outfit - instead opting for the chicken nuggets option that incredibly helped Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt win a record 100m final at London 2012.

But despite the midfielder being set to come up against the likes of pacey right-back Bellerin on a belly full of fast food, Bailey insists he is ready to leave a lasting impact on one of Arsenal's stars.

“It is all about rattling their players. If anyone tries to get past me, then they are coming down! So long as it’s done the right way." Bailey added.

“I will be looking to leave my mark on someone but will do it in a fair way. It is just good to come up against these sorts of players.

“It’s a game we didn’t expect to have this season and it is just a bonus.”