Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has openly criticised Arsenal's approach from set pieces as the topic gathers pace ahead of their Premier League game on Wednesday night
Mikel Arteta speaking in a press conference
Mikel Arteta has defended his side's approach to set pieces
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Mikel Arteta has brushed off criticism of Arsenal's tactics for set pieces after Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler turned up the heat ahead of their meeting on Wednesday with some provocative comments. Set pieces have become even more important in the Premier League this season and Arsenal are the undisputed masters, meaning they have been attracting some flak.
After netting both of their goals in the 2-1 win over Chelsea on Sunday from corners, Arsenal have now scored 19 times from set pieces in 29 league games this season. That tally is five goals better than Newcastle in second place and 12 more than Brighton, who do, however, have the joint-best defensive record from set pieces, with just five goals conceded.
The topic has been thrust into the spotlight this week after Liverpool manager Arne Slot lamented that games are no longer a "joy to watch" due to the dominance of set pieces. Opta say that 27.5 per cent of Premier League goals this season come from non-penalty set pieces - the second-highest rate since 2009-10.
Hurzeler was asked for his take on Tuesday and aimed a dig at Arsenal in the process. "I think because it disturbs the rhythm of the game and there are no clear rules any more how much time you can spend for a corner, how much time you can spend for a throw-in," he said when asked why there was so much negativity around set pieces.
"Some of the blocking or the way teams are blocking, I think there's no clear rule - sometimes the referee whistles and it's a foul, sometimes he doesn't. I think that's why we have this topic at the moment but for me the main topic is [to] make a clear rule how much time you can waste for a corner, for a throw-in, for a free-kick.
"When Arsenal has a corner and they are leading, sometimes they spend over one minute just to take a corner. Therefore I think we just have to make clear rules, because in the end we have game time of 50 minutes instead of sometimes 65 minutes. The game is changing so much. We analyse it and the difference is massive.
"I have the opinion that every supporter who pays a lot of money to go to the stadiums and watch our game should see the same game time. They want to see a football event and they don't want to see maybe 50 minutes the ball is in the game and 40 minutes the game is not running."
Gabriel of Arsenal is held by Lisandro Martinez of Manchester United for an oncoming corner
Arsenal have had great success from corners this season, but have also been criticised for their approach(Image: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
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Arteta was asked in his press conference whether other sides would like to have the same proficiency from set pieces as Arsenal. "I certainly want to be. I'm upset that we're going to score more and that we concede as well," he said.
"So we want to be the best and the most dominant team in every aspect of the game. And that's the trajectory and the aim of this team. And as a club we want to be the same. So let's try to do that."
Asked about the criticism coming the way of his side, he replied simply: "Part of the job."
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