Under Mikel Arteta, Arsenal has become highly efficient in exploiting set pieces, causing significant problems for their opponents. In the match against United, Arsenal raised the tempo in the second half, and their carefully rehearsed set-piece strategies paid off, resulting in two goals. Despite United’s preparations to defend against such tactics, they struggled to contain Arsenal’s well-executed routines.
Berbatov emphasised the unique physicality of the Premier League in his comments, saying, as quoted by the Daily Mail: “Probably the Premier League is the only league in the world where you have so many players around the goalkeeper, pushing, shoving, making chaos. Normally, it is going to be a foul. Not here. You need to be strong. And that’s probably why he (Ruben Amorim) was watching from the side, he was like, ‘What is going on with my keeper?’ You need to work on that. As we joke, Arsenal is the new Stoke City, right? Depending on set-pieces, which can give you the win, as it was today.”
Arsenal’s dedication to refining set-piece plays during training sessions is evident in their performances, and it has become a defining aspect of their strategy. While this strength has rattled opponents, it also underscores the need for Arsenal to diversify their methods of scoring. Maintaining their effectiveness in set pieces remains crucial, but the team must ensure they are not overly reliant on this approach to secure victories.
Berbatov’s remarks highlight how Arsenal’s current approach sets them apart, evoking memories of a bygone era when Stoke City’s physical dominance and set-piece prowess made them formidable.
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Berbatov’s right, and it’s not at all pretty, but we don’t have the thuggery of Pullis’ teams. I have noticed that we’re very careful not to foul the keeper now, and don’t grapple back with defenders.
Jax
I have observed it too, seems a converted effort have been put in how we conduct ourselves in the opposition box
He loved it when Man United would destroy us every season due to our weak mentality back in the day.
The good old days where we had turned into weak weeping boys to the Top team. When we were all cute, pretty and weak is when they loved us.
🤣😂
It worked last night , but tony pulis called he wants his team back from 2001 .
That’s the problem with a safety first manager ,no chance with the league this year continuing playing like that for the remainder of the season .
It shouldn’t be our plan A and plan B we need to be better than that to win something big, which is what this team should be doing.
Reggie we have a plan c now, we can score with our butts!!!!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@Dan kit
I totally agree with everything you stated. With the team that we have, if Arteta were to let them run without the reins, we could win it this time around. Just saying….
I thought the first half was rather cautious,but I’m not sure that is the approach in all the games. The amount of goals we’ve scored since the last break certainly don’t point to caution. We seem to be more cautious vs the big sides and going by our record against the “big 6” over the past couple of seasons,maybe it’s not a bad thing.
I also think the caution was partly due to United having very pacy wingers who can score from transitions. With Zinchenko in defense,being too front-footed could easily have been disastrous.
“…no chance with the league continuing playing like that”. I’d say if we continue playing like that against the big sides and getting points while playing the rest of the games like we did Vs Westham/Forest,we still have a good chance.
From a former spurs and united man, I wouldn’t expect anything else.
Winning is the name of the game!
Great is the team that can win with different options: from the smooth-flowing against Sporting to the “buttockers” against United!
If Arsenal played all-smooth and lost or even draw, Amorim would say “Arsenal came to play, we came to win”, same words when his Sporting team beat Arsenal with a very late goal in Lisbon
Yes like Stoke as it works, but the difference is we don’t have thugs who break opponent’s legs!
Who cares what the pundit says.
There is a difference though
In a scrappy game or a match where the squad is not at their best, corners and free kicks help to get 3 points.
If the plan A tactic is to slop around the pitch hoping for a set piece or corner, then that’s sluggish, uncreative, and base.
Sorry but with the money spent and talent available, we should not be having this as a plan A tactic.
I think Arteta was stating that in creating opportunities, set pieces and corners are options, and we should be prepared to capitalize.
I don’t see anything more than that, don’t see it as a deliberate main focus as we saw with Stoke City and Pullis.
Being compared to Stoke “Rugby” Club is quite sad.
I understand a win is a win, but we all watch the game for the entertainment right? I hope this isn’t going to be the way forward, and was hopefully just a tactic for this specific game.
To be honest, if this does become our Plan A going into every game, I would probably start losing interest.
I think what the press, media, pundits and opponents want and try to plant in our minds is gradually beginning to work. “Start making them feel scoring from corners is boring, we lack ingenuity from open play”. Later on, we the fans, both in stadium and outside will stop celebrating our players whenever we score from set pieces, and then this new attitude from the fans gets to the players/coaches and they caring and practicing set pieces and in a game like that of United, we go home with a draw or even lose. We are really never satisfied. I remember during the days of Wenger when we the fans also complained bitterly how we hardly convert our corner kicks to goals, and now we are complaining we score too much from same corner kicks. What exactly do we want?
I think fans just want entertaining, expressive, open football. Understandably every match does not work out that way, and sometimes you have to find scrappy ways to win; no problem with that.
But for the money spent and talent in our squad, set piece/corner kicks as a focus is truly a bit base.
We have the talent not to reduce ourselves to resorting to those tactics as a primary source of goals.
Capitalizing on situations is one thing, a primary focus of winning every match is another.
All my opinion of course, but as Arsenal fans we want our players to play, pass, and move; not huddle in the box as our primary tactics is all.