ARSENAL boss Mikel Arteta has said he wants his side to be “kings of everything” after the Gunners were heavily praised for their strength at set pieces last week.
Arsenal scored two goals from corners in their 2-0 win over Manchester United on Wednesday.
Those strikes took Arsenal’s tally of goals from corners this season to 22 — five more than any other side in Europe’s top five leagues.
After the match, former Manchester United and Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov labelled Arsenal the “new Stoke City” — a side who excelled at set pieces during a 10-year spell in the Premier League from 2008 to 2018.
Speaking on Friday, Arteta said he took Berbatov’s words as a “big complement”, but urged his side to dominate all aspects of football.
“We want to be the kings of everything,” he said. “On set pieces, the best in the world; on high press, the best in the world; attacking in open spaces, the best in the world.
“Best atmosphere and stadium — the best at everything.
“Before it was we didn’t score enough, we didn’t challenge, we didn’t win big games for 20 years. We want to be the best at everything now.”
Arsenal are on a run of four consecutive victories and are seven points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool.
They travel to Fulham today and have defenders Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori back fit after missing last week’s victory.
Pundits were left purring once again by Arsenal’s set-piece prowess after a series of dangerous corners led to both goals and a host of further chances in the 2-0 victory over Manchester United.
Post-match, Arteta said he hoped opponents would continue to struggle to find a solution to a strength everybody is aware of, but few can find a way to address.
Former Stoke boss Tony Pulis joked that it was inevitable that the rest of the Premier League would eventually follow his lead after being likened to a “trailblazer” and a “set-piece guru”.
“As Arsenal are showing it’s such an important part of the game. It is something that is coming more into fashion with teams up and down the country having set-play coaches,” Pulis said.
“It’s taken everyone a while to work it out, but it looks like the penny has dropped!”
Pulis acknowledged the standard of Arsenal’s corner kicks are “so good”, particularly against teams that used zonal marking, that it has become an effective weapon for Arteta’s side.
“If you’re breaking it down, I think the quality of corner kicks that Arsenal provide people to attack is absolutely fantastic,” Pulis added.
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“Also, a lot of goals they have scored which I have seen have been scored against zonal marking. I always used to hope and pray teams would zonal mark because you have people standing and jumping.
“When it’s a running jump against a standing up, there are not many people who will beat you. Arsenal are attacking the spaces in between the zonal markers and everyone is on the move.”
Portugal head coach and former Everton manager Roberto Martinez added: “We all suffered Stoke. I think it is a great credit to remember Tony Pulis.”
Under Pulis, 43,1 percent of Stoke’s Premier League goals between 2008 and 2013 (81 of 188) came from set pieces (excluding penalties), so Arsenal are not quite on their level yet.
Speaking to Amazon, United manager Ruben Amorim labelled Arsenal’s corner routines “incredible, especially the way they change the games, because sometimes they are not dominating”.
“Today (the game) was really divided, no big opportunities and then one set piece can change the game. You can see in every situation Saka and (Gabriel) Martinelli go outside and they cross. They know if the cross is going well, they can score. If it goes for a corner, they can score.”
There are several aspects to Arsenal’s set pieces that make them extremely difficult for opponents to defend.
The first is excellent delivery.
“Delivery is key, movement, blocking the goalkeeper.
“The ball is played over that first player (at the near post) and its perfection,” former Arsenal defender Martin Keown said.
Speaking on Football Daily, Izzy Christiansen noted how many of Arsenal’s corners were delivered right on top of United goalkeeper Andre Onana, who was surrounded by “blockers”.
And on Match of the Day, Amorim seemed to concur, adding: “They put a lot of players near the goalkeeper and it’s almost impossible to fight for the ball.”
Speaking to Amazon after full-time, Rice said: “We keep at it (set pieces) all the time; we never get bored. With repetition, you end up scoring goals.
“When you go up for a corner, it’s a chance to score a goal, not a chance to relax and chill.” Arsenal kept United guessing, with their first goal coming from a front post-delivery and their second via a corner sent to the back post. — BBC
