Former Premier League boss Tony Pulis believes that the "penny has dropped" on the importance of set-pieces after Arsenal continued their fine record from dead-ball situations.
The Gunners beat Manchester United 2-0 on Wednesday night thanks to two goals from corner kicks. Mikel Arteta's men have made the most of set-pieces thanks to Nicolas Jover's insight, making them a real threat against most opponents.
Since the start of the 2023/24 season, Arsenal have scored more goals from corners than any other team in Europe's top five leagues. According to Opta data shared by the BBC, the north Londoners' 22 goals from corners put them five clear of the next-best team, Bayer Leverkusen.
Following the victory over United, comparisons to Stoke City have been made. Under Pulis, the Potteries caused problems from corners, free-kicks and long throw-ins after their promotion in 2008. Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov made the comparison on Prime Video Sport, saying: "As we joke, Arsenal are the new Stoke City, right? Depending on set pieces, which can give you the win, as it was today."
In response to the comparison, former Stoke manager Pulis told BBC Radio 5 Live: "They get it now. What I would say, and I want to make this clear, is that I think for corners - and we were very, very good at set plays at Stoke - but for corners, it was one season at West Brom when we scored the highest number of goals (from corners).
"All the teams I've been at, most have been good at set plays, which is such an important part of the game, as Arsenal are showing, and I think it's coming more into fashion now with people having set play coaches up and down the country."
He continued: "I was aware of how important those different situations would be to a team that was just coming into the Premier League and having to survive in the Premier League. The quality of the balls in is absolutely fantastic. Then you've got to have people who want to attack the ball and want to score. Arsenal have got that in abundance.
"If you look at my career all the way through from winning promotion at Gillingham, I got promoted from every division. I worked hard. I knew how important they were, I knew they would be a big factor for the teams I had.
"Doing it and making sure players knew how important it was, was all part of my set-up. I would set my teams up in lots of ways and set plays were as important as anything else."