Both of Arsenal's goals in their win over Man United arrived following corner kicks
Stoke were famed for their physical approach to matches under Tony Pulis
LISTEN NOW: Manchester City correspondent Jack Gaughan joins It's All Kicking Off! to explain whether Pep Guardiola will have money to spend in January
By LEWIS BROWNING
Published: 19:41 EST, 4 December 2024 | Updated: 19:41 EST, 4 December 2024
Dimitar Berbatov has branded Arsenal 'the new Stoke City' after Mikel Arteta's side scored two more goals from set-pieces against Manchester United.
Arsenal closed the gap at the top of the Premier League to Liverpool by two points on Wednesday night, as they beat United 2-0 and the Reds drew 3-3 with Newcastle.
Sandwiched between them are Chelsea, who have the same amount of points as the Gunners but a better goal difference, helped by brushing aside Southampton with a 5-1 win on the same night.
Though Liverpool remain favourites to win the Premier League, Arsenal are just behind them with the bookmakers and a large reason for that is their success from dead ball situations.
They have scored 22 goals from set-pieces since the start of last season, more than any other team in the Premier League, and are showing no signs of slowing down after another two goals from corners on Wednesday.
But that has led to some stark comparisons from Berbatov, who suggested Arsenal are the modern day version of Tony Pulis' finest.
Berbatov watched on as Arsenal scored two goals from corners in Wednesday night's game
Stoke were famed for their physical approach to Premier League matches under Tony Pulis
'Probably the Premier League is the only league in the world where you have so many players around the goalkeeper, pushing, shoving, making chaos,' the former Man United forward said on Amazon Prime Video. '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.'
Gabriel has already scored three Premier League goals from set-pieces this season, but his absence wasn't missed on Wednesday as he sat out with a minor knock.
Instead, Jurrien Timber opened the scoring from Declan Rice's cross before William Saliba netted himself as United struggled to deal with Arsenal's threat.
Stoke, meanwhile, prided themselves on their physicality under Pulis during his reign from 2006 to 2013, with Rory Delap's long throw often their main ammunition when it came to creating chances.
Speaking on their success, Rice said after the United game: ‘When you go up for a corner it's a chance to score a goal, so to score both of them from corners, [set-piece coach] Nico [Jover] will be buzzing and I'm so happy.
‘Seeing clips, I know the weight I need to put on the ball and it's just about repetition. I put a few good balls in and could've had a couple of assists so it was nice to get one.’
Arsenal's first goal against United came from a Declan Rice corner, met by Jurrien Timber
The second was put in by William Saliba - the 22nd goal Arsenal have scored from a dead ball since the start of last season
The long throw of Rory Delap was often utilised by Stoke during their time under Pulis
United boss Amoirm, meanwhile, said: 'The set pieces changed the game. We could've been more aggressive towards the Arsenal box. Until the set pieces the game didn't have too many opportunities for both sides, the set pieces killed the game.
‘They can put a lot of players near the goalkeeper and it's almost impossible to fight for the ball but we have to manage to defend them and we already know we have to be better.
‘We were committed and we lost to the set pieces.’