Head coach Mikel Arteta has responded after Manchester United legend Dimitar Berbatov jokingly claimed Arsenal are the “new Stoke City”.
Arsenal earned their third-consecutive Premier League win on Wednesday night as they deservedly beat Man Utd 2-0 at the Emirates. This result leaves them seven points adrift of table-toppers Liverpool.
Under Arteta, the Gunners have mastered corners and Man Utd succumbed to set-pieces as Jurrien Timber and William Saliba scored the vital goals in midweek.
Speaking post-match, former Man Utd forward Berbatov lightheartedly suggested Arsenal are “the new Stoke City” amid their expertise with set-pieces.
“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,” Berbatov said.
“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.”
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In response, Arteta suggested he takes Berbatov’s comments as a “big compliment”.
“I understood very well what Dimitar Berbatov said, I was in the best possible way,” Arteta revealed.
“We take it as a big compliment [because Stoke were so good at it].”
On Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice taking Arsenal’s corners, Arteta added: “They work with any kind of finishing constantly, we want to be a threat from everything that we do and we have tot take every opportunity to make it count and be a threat.”
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On Rice, he continued: “Adapt the player’s abilities to the team’s needs and to how we can exploit the qualities that we have within the squad in the best possible way.
“It’s all about the players, every tactic, every decision, every position on the pitch is towards that.”
Arteta has also insisted that he wants his side to be “the kings of everything”.
“Well we want to be the kings of everything, 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,” Arteta said.
“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.
“The best academy, the best individual development for players. We want to be the best of the best. Recruit the best players, the best coaches, that’s the aim.”